A local mother of three has reached the finals of a national award scheme for parent bloggers.
Nickie O’Hara, who runs the Typecast blog, has been shortlisted for the “Most Innovative” category in the Mum and Dad (MAD) Blog awards.
Nickie’s blogging is based around her experiences as a mother, and has taken several forms over the years, from documenting her life-changing surgery and being a housewife to writing about her daughter becoming pregnant at a young age. The shortlist of bloggers has now been put to the public vote, which is open until 14 June.
“I tend to write a tidied-up version of how I speak. I believe that writing from the heart is the most natural way to communicate and if I’m being real then I am hopefully connecting with the reader more” says Nickie.
“I write a bit of fiction from time to time and was looking for some inspiration a while back. I found a folder of pieces that my Mum had written (she passed away in 2004 – she was a great writer but it was a hobby) and I found a piece that she had written about a childhood visit to Ireland.
“I was astounded at our similar styles, even though I had never read any of her longer, more descriptive pieces”.
Nickie has been commened by the MAD judges for not being afraid of controversy, her blog’s integration with social media tools and a range of tutorials that she has written.
“The most rewarding part of blogging is feedback. Whether that be in the form of a comment left underneath the blog post, a tweet directed to me or an email.
“I like conversation – I like to make people think about what I have written and maybe re-examine something in their own lives that is similar or hear their experiences. It’s all about starting (or continuing) conversation”.
You can vote for Nickie by visiting the MAD website, and catch up with her on Twitter.