H.C Porter Interviews The Clean Life
Insights from a passionate Hubber seeking to help others through his writing
You have been writing on HubPages for a while. Each of us have different reasons for writing here, what is yours? Why did you begin writing on Hubpages? How did you come up with the The Clean Life as a screen name?
About 19 months ago I was on Facebook and noticed HubPages as a writing platform. At the time in my life I started a blog on alcoholism called "The Clean Life." This was something I struggled with for many years. I became clean and sober in October 2009 and wanted to reach out to more people letting them know that there is always hope for sobriety so I signed up with HubPages and began to write about my life and ways that I found that helped me get sober and stay sober.
Once I started my blog I thought about catchy, but to-the-point screen names, and I figured my life is clean and sober, so I came up with the name "The Clean Life" because my life is now clean of all alcohol and I carried that name over to HubPages.
What is your greatest struggle with creating Hubs?
My greatest struggle writing on HubPages has been wording my Hub Titles and writing the right content to get the word across to those who read them: that there is always hope, and that if one keeps a positive attitude, not only with an addiction, but anything in life, anything is possible.
As a veteran here on HubPages, what advice would you give a new Hubber?
The advice I would give to all new Hubbers is that they should write Hubs about things they know about and love. They shold write original Hubs, and try their hardest to help readers understand their writing, learn from it, and return for more.
If you could accomplish anything with your writing, what would it be?
That question is a good one. Way back, I wanted to make a living writing, but then I realized that people who comment on my Hubs and email me asking questions about quitting drinking were far more important to me than any money. Money is nice, but being able to talk and try to teach those who are struggling with an addiction is far more important to me.
Have you always enjoyed writing, or is it a hobby you picked up later in life?
To be perfectly honest, I hated to write and was not fond of school. I started writing over two years ago when I got sober. It really helped me to stay sober because I knew that my articles were being posted around the world. That inspired me even more to keep writing. I will continue to do so forever and knowing that maybe just one blog post or one Hub will help someone to get sober.
Do your family and friends support your efforts as a writer? Do they read your Hubs and leave comments on your work?
My family and friends have been wonderful and so supported with my sobriety and my writing. I email each Hub or blog to my wife, daughter and friends and they usually comment through Gmail and not on the Hub or blog post itself. I just need them to know that what I write will help others and if I am staying on the right track.
You and I have a common mission; can you tell others what this mission is and why you feel so strongly about it and your efforts to reach others?
My mission in life is to continue to write and never stop in hopes that one article I post will help someone in our world realize that anyone can get sober if he or she truly wants to. Two years ago I thought I would never be able to quit drinking and I proved myself wrong. This is why I feel so strongly about continuing to write to tell those who are struggling to never sell themselves short and that if they believe they will certainly achieve. I believed in myself and accomplished what I thought would be impossible.
If you had to select only a handful of writings from HubPages to promote you as a person, as your mission, as your purpose; which of your published works would you select?
Well, as far as my Hubs and which ones I would select is tough because I have 270 Hubs published now, but if I were to choose a few it would be ones regarding having a Positive Attitude in Life, Living Life Simple and still being Happy and all of the ones I wrote regarding How to Quit Drinking and Living a Life of Sobriety.
There are many great writers on HubPages, and we all have our favorites and people that we recommend to others. Which 3 or 4 Hubbers would you recommend to those who are new to HubPages and why?
Wow, that is a hard question. Each person that writes here on Hubpages is great and a few of them have become like family to me. We share our lives with each other and have a lot of trust in what we tell each other. There are 5 in particular I have grown to love and I enjoy reading their work. Each one has their own niche in which they are experts on and they are as follows:
Denise Handlon,
Cagsil,
sofs,
cardelean, and
klarawieck.
We all stay in daily contact with each other in our forum "Last One To Post Is The Winner (Redux) in the Sandpit. Any new Hubber should check out their Hubs and will learn so much by their knowledge and expertise.
If you could share anything or say anything to the world about who you are, or about what you have been through in life and what you have learned during your life’s journey, what would it be?
Well Holly, my life has been a real journey for sure. I had a wonderful childhood, but when I became an adult in my very early 20s I chose the wrong people to be around and made some bad decisions along the way. I began to drink alcohol and over the years alcohol became a huge part of my life. I always wanted the fine things in life even though I knew I couldn't afford them, but found a way to get what I wanted one way or another, which put me and my family in some financial trouble.
I worked so hard to support my family and I would give to others in need and did without for myself and family. I always wanted to help people in any way I could, but sometimes what I hurt myself and my family through my generosity to others. Helping others always made me feel good inside. I write here on HubPages and on my blog in an effort to continue to help others in a totally different way by sharing what I have learned from my mistakes in my own life regarding drinking alcohol.
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