MartieCoetser, From South Africa, 683 Fans, 124 Hubs, Joined 2 years ago
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Drbj Interviews MartieCoetser
A peek into the fundamental drive behind an active Hubber, freelance writer, traveler, and writing coach
Martie: Firstly I want to thank you, drbj and Simone, for the honor to be an interviewee in the HubPagesWeekly newsletter. I regard my Hubbing in HubPages as an exciting and rewarding hobby and have never cherished any hopes to be featured in this important newsletter. So standing up here in the blinding limelight, I will try to behave like the lady my mother (and children) want me to be.
Drbj: You are one of the most eclectic writers on HubPages, Martie. Your topics range from the serious to the sublime. Do you have a few favorites? And why?
I would say my favorite topic is ‘human behavior’. Understanding myself and others has always been a challenge. Analyzing human behavior to the bone on paper (now computer screen), either via a formal article, short story or poem, gives me insight I desperately need. And, of course, I like sharing my hypotheses with others, as I consider the opinions of others as additional proof that I have hit all nails securely on their heads. HubPages is by far the best site for this kind of sharing.
You are a woman of many talents and several interesting careers. How do you believe your musical background and other life experiences have shaped your writing?
All my experiences – the good, the bad and the ugly - and everything I have learned, including the fundamentals of music, have enlarged my source of knowledge and insight and therefore I am able to write so much more about more. For a obsessive-compulsive writer, a large pool of general knowledge and insight is like a goldmine – to be mined forever and a day.
A person’s occupation does have a mighty influence on his or her character and perception of life and all its issues. So all the different posts I have occupied, have given me sufficient personal experience to create true-to-life characters in fiction and to provide interesting backgrounds and information. (Especially when reading a novel, or any creative fiction, the author’s knowledge and insight shine between the lines and words. Puleez, just shoot me whenever I expose ignorance and a lack of insight.)
For you, what triggers an idea for choosing a topic and writing a new Hub?
I see potential Hubs everywhere – like I see weeds in my garden. Keeping weeds out of my garden is a never-ending, never-thoroughly-completed-task! Weeds, like ideas for Hubs, are always – always where they actually should not be.
So I have a kind of compost-heap of ideas for Hubs and only a shortage of available time prevents me from writing and publishing four to five Hubs per day. An issue that ignites my emotions, especially my anger, activates my obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. I have to write those ‘devils’ promptly out of my system, and then suffer the consequences of lost sleep, nutritious food and even much-needed tender loving care from relatives and friends (and let me rather not mention the boyfriend while I am standing in Simone’s blinding spotlight).
From your enthralling descriptions of various locations in South Africa, you make me want to drop everything, grab my passport and fly there immediately – if not sooner. Do you have a favorite place or places to re-visit there? Why?
Oh, South Africa is a beautiful country with a large variety of geographical regions. I really can’t pick one place as my favorite above another; all regions have their unique enchanting character. Of course, I will not pick the semi-desert or bushveld in summer, although I will not easily ignore opportunities to go there at any time of the year. I love nature in all its facets, as well as culture and history. So every acre in my country is a piece of jewel to treasure. (BTW, I am guiding two tours of ten days each per year, so call me when you would like to enjoy an off-the-beaten-path-tour of South Africa. Touring the entire country will unfortunately take much longer than only 10 days.)
As a freelance writer and writing coach, you must have favorite stories to share. What is the funniest? Or strangest? Or most fascinating?
Reviewing all the writings I’ve committed since 1991, I really can’t categorize anything as funniest, strangest or most fascinating. I would say their unique instigators could be categorized, but not to be revealed, as it would ruin the impact the writing might have on the reader. It is difficult to get a personal, significant message from any writing when you know what lies behind it.
Do you have any suggestions for other Hubbers about writing successful Hubs? (You may provide your own definition of successful, my dear.)
I consider structure as the most powerful quality of a successful Hub. The introduction, the body and the conclusion must be clearly identifiable. If not, the Hub seems to be an explosion of thoughts and statements, like a Big Bang sending substance in all directions. Although I talk the hind leg off a donkey, I believe that a piece of writing should contain only the most essential words. Even the merest message properly structured could make a powerful impact. Just look at puns and aphorisms; condensed messages with no distracting words and phrases.
Do you have any specific goals for the HubPages you plan to write in 2013?
To be honest, I have at last reached the stage where I have achieved all the goals I have set for myself when I was young with firm physical attributes, high aspirations and magnificent dreams. I am now rewarded with the right to do whatever I like whenever I want. I do have a rule, however – I must finish what I’ve started and I must hang it out where it belongs. So when an exciting idea pops up in my mind, like writing a series or whatever, my goal would be to finish it without delay. Because I have too many exciting ideas, I simply ignore those that require too much time and energy.
So who knows what I’m going to achieve in 2013? So wonderful to have no goal to achieve in order to be recognized by my own cruel and critical self as a successful human being. I have served my sentence of hard labor (so, Adam and Eve, put this in your pipe and smoke it!); I am finally free to enjoy life as it happens.
Unfortunately I still have to generate income, but having the acquired skills and set procedure, it is a matter of going with the flow. Thanks again, drbj and Simone, for this honorable opportunity to introduce myself to all my most admirable co-writers on HubPages. Only Time and too many balls in the air prevent me from reading all the hubs that are published on this excellent site.
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