The Personal Element

Intoduction on Slack

Introduction on Slack

My name is Petra, (Wies Blaize as my pseudonym) and I found the program via Charity’s invitation.

I am from the Netherlands in Europe, born in the city of The Hague where I live now after residing elsewhere for years. The Hague, the administrative capital with lots of history and a fine city center, is the place for me. With more than 70 nationalities it is an international hub which makes it interesting but it faces also the problems of the big city. A thrilling mix.

I have been a Dutch poet in my twenties, publishing three poetry books but spent my time being a (Theoretical) Psychologist and Youth counselor for many years. When I got molested at the job, I quit my profession and after struggling for years with the ending of my career I became a writer. First, in Dutch with a different outcome, I published a few stories, but it all came together after I joined Writing.com, the online writer’s community more than six years ago. What a difference that made! I started writing solely in American/English and although I have still trouble with grammar and spelling (but tools like Grammarly do help) I find it a calling to be an ESL writer. It gave me back identity and joy in Life.

I have published a few short stories and poetry, and although I am blogging for years now I have never tried to publish non-fiction. My goal never was to get published but to get read, and being a member of Writing.com was sufficient in that regard.

My hopes for joining are getting the hang of writing personal essays (blogs) while learning more about the craft. Ultimately I want to write in such a way that it would be interesting and doable to publish my non-fiction.

To answer the question of my writing strengths is really challenging. I have never thought about this, to be honest. But my passion for writing comes to mind. I love the craft, the life, and the struggle.

There is not much of a life besides writing. I live alone with my dog Sprout and have recently joined the Red Cross movement to be a Social worker for Ukrainian refugees. It will start after the Summer. Furthermore, I am mosaicing and singing in a protest choir.