Maria Rushe

My friend Liam Porter wrote a collection of poems called

Dance in the Rain. I edited it for him, and in a brief conversation over coffee, I mentioned that I have always wanted to write. Liam asked me, ‘Well, what’s stopping you?’ and I found myself thinking, ‘What is stopping me?’ That really gave me the kick. I started to write about what I knew. At that time, in 2014, I had a two-year-old daughter.

I called my blog Secrets of The S Mum, eventually simplifying it to The S Mum. The ‘S’ stands for a different word in each blog post; the shitty mum, the scared mum, etc. Four years later, and I still haven’t run out of words beginning with S!

For the first six months, I remained anonymous. But Letterkenny is a small town, and people soon began to realise it was me.

It’s not my job to write for my blog, it’s my pastime. I have had some lovely opportunities arise from my blog, but, for me, it’s a hobby. If people read it, they read it; if they don’t, they don’t. I have a loyal and engaging following, and I write about anything from parenting to fitness faux pas.

The fact that people follow me is irrelevant. It’s nice to have a loyal readership, to be put up for awards and get public votes. But if I write something, I write it because I want to write it. I’m not doing it for hits or shares. When they come, it’s nice, but I don’t need them to validate my work.

I think the word ‘blogger’ has been tainted a little, which is unfortunate. A lot of us are still simply writers and creators. We are not all influencing and selling things.

I would do small collaborations locally at home in Letterkenny. I only ever work with companies whom I genuinely buy from. I always state that it is a collaboration, and that I’m getting paid. When you’re being paid to promote something, and you’re not telling your followers that you’re being paid, it’s just wrong.

When you say you’re a blogger, there will always be someone in the room who rolls their eyes. There is a difference between bloggers and blaggers. Not all bloggers are just there for free stuff; it’s my creative outlet.

On my blog, I like the idea of showing reality. Recently, I went on a walk with friends, and I wasn’t having the best day. I posted some beautiful photos on Instagram that evening. I looked back at the images and thought to myself, ‘These pictures are not reflective of the day I’ve had or the way I’m feeling’. So I wrote a blog post about how we can be misled by images we see online, and I got many messages from people thanking me for it.

I am thrilled to sign up with creators.ie, and I think it’s nice to have somebody else choose pieces from your work and publish them. It’s exciting to know your work has been put out on a national platform.

Creators.ie are still growing their website, with bloggers joining daily. Email Sasha Kinch at hello@creators.ie to find out more