As mentioned the other day, I had the opportunity to interview Becky of Deep Muck Big Rake for The Great Interview Experiment. The idea really is genius, because everybody has a fascinating story to tell and something important to say. Just ask. Sign up to interview and be interviewed here.
Now, without further ado, here is my interview with Becky:
Tiffany: What drew you to blogging?
Becky: A couple of real-life friends who started blogs. I’m a lemming, so I jumped.
Tiffany: When you began blogging, did you have a theme or perhaps an agenda in mind? Was there anything you hoped for in blogging?
Becky: I had a blog before this one, and I basically wrote it for my real-life blogging friends. We all had twins, so I wrote about that aspect of my life and sometimes about music or books. I would slip in a post about politics once in a while, but it never felt right. I had an “identity crisis” last summer, quit that blog and started this one. I feel more comfortable here.
Tiffany: Have you ever regretted any of your posts? Why or why not?
Becky: Yeah. I recently wrote one that made fun of Norwegians. I thought it was just plain mean and not really constructive, so I took it down.
Tiffany: I am always interested in learning from other working mothers. How do you balance work and home life?
Becky: It’s like a seesaw. Well, that requires balance, but it’s not like walking a tightrope where you need perfect and constant balance or you fall and die. Things go up. Things go down. Sometimes you sit in the middle and balance … but not often. Right now, work is up in the air because home life weighs down the other end, but I don’t expect it to always be that way.
Tiffany: Many of your posts deal with politics. Have you always been interested in politics, and if not, when did you become so?
Becky: I majored in journalism and minored in English, history and political science. My favorite class of all time was Media & War.
Tiffany: Just for fun, if you were elected the next president, what three things would you hope to accomplish in your administration?
Becky: No way. Not ever. And there are WAY more than three things that need to be accomplished.
Tiffany: How does your blogging style differ from your journalistic style, if at all?
Becky: I cuss more, although I’m trying to change that since I’ve gotten some negative feedback. (Sorry, Mom.)
Tiffany: What are you passionate about?
Becky: Reading, learning, research.
Tiffany: What is your favorite word? (And why?)
Becky: Snark. When I was editing obituaries, I read that someone was Grand Snark of some fraternal organization. For real. I told my colleagues that when they wrote my obituary, they were to make me Grand Snark of something.
Tiffany: When you’ve got an hour to wander in a bookstore, which section do you visit first? How do you go about selecting your next read?
Becky: Biographies. Right now, I’m reading from my book-club list, but I choose books for all kinds of reasons. After a discussion on politics and the presidential campaign with my friend Sarah, she said, “You really should read Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ‘72′” I groaned. I had tried Thompson before, and I just didn’t get him. But Sarah was right. I loved that book.
Tiffany: Any luck on getting your nightmare travel money back?
Becky: Not yet. But my senator said he’s calling the airline for me. Not sure yet whether that’s a good thing. We’ll see.
Tiffany: What were you doing ten years ago?
Becky: Pinching pennies, selling off belongings and planning to move to Norway.
Tiffany: Where do you see yourself ten years from now?
Becky: Attending high-school concerts, games or whatever they’re into.
Tiffany: If you were to give your life story a title, what would it be and why?
Becky: “Becky lives to laugh”
Because … I do.
Tiffany: Describe yourself in one word.
Becky: Multifarious.
My boss used that word in my performance review. (That’s been more than 20 years ago … yipes.) I just got a card from her the other day. I’ll tell her to read this. I bet she laughs.
Tiffany: What advice would you give to someone interested in a writing career?
Becky: Write every day. More importantly, read every day.
Tiffany: I love the header of your blog. Were you involved in the design process or was it entirely your designer friend’s vision?
Becky: I knew I wanted an ancient typewriter and something about muckraking. The designer found the photo with the face and rake. Perfect.
Tiffany: What other destinations are you hoping to visit in your travels and why?
Becky: I would love to go back to Italy. I should probably get to Canada. Living so close and never having visited seems a shame. I’ve also never seen the West Coast. I should do that.
Tiffany: When you were out of town, you invited guest bloggers. Did you enjoy handing over the reigns? Will you ever do it again?
Becky: It was great. I sent out a plea, hoping three or four bloggers might take pity on me. I was gone for three weeks and had a blogger for almost every day. I was honored and humbled, and they were amazing. Yep, I’d do it again.
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Thank you, Becky, for being a great interviewee. I appreciated your candid answers and I look forward to continued reading on your blog!
