My Cheeky Influence

A stormtrooper in Divaland?  How on earth did I get here?  And why?  Why enter a land dominated by women?  Cheeky women at that?  Because, dearest reader,  it’s there.  And it’s filled with women.  Duh.  Plus, I’m a badass stormtrooper undaunted by divas.  Unless they get angry.  Then I hide on the floor curled up in the fetal position until the storm passes.  I may or may not also pee my pants whilst I quiver in fear.

I met my dearest Cheeky (that’ my pet name for her – I have no idea if she approves) over in Le Clownosphere™ when she hosted Sunday Haikus.  And she did a magnificent™ job.  From there I followed her blog and through comment interaction and Twitter silliness, we became blogging buddies.  At least, that’s how I think of us.  Hopefully being considered my friend isn’t offensive to her.  If so, I humbly apologize to her divaness.  Profusely.

The Diva herself asked me if I would like one of her coveted guest blogger spots on Wednesday (that’s today, for those of you who haven’t had your coffee yet) and after thoughtful consideration I decided it would probably be beneficial for me to accept the invitation.  In other words, I jumped up and down, did a cart-wheel, punted an Ewok, let out an excited whoop, slapped a newborn baby on the tush, smoked a stogie, called my loved ones, did some shots, cut some random ribbon, shot Greedo first, made it rain, and plastered my invitation on the refrigerator.  Oh, and then I said yes.  Excitedly.  Kind of like when I ask my two-year old if he wants an M&M.  YES!!!

I was, however, unsure what to write.  What could I say that would be worthy of this epic blog?  What could a lowly stormtrooper say to a fine group of readers who are used to reading the words of a diva?  Of blog royalty?

We’re not worthy!!

Then it hit me like cramps minutes after eating Taco Bell:  extol her.  All divas love having praise heaped upon them.  I’m sure this diva is no different.  Plus, this praise would be genuine.

Taco Bell.   You always pay for it twice, but only once from your wallet. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My dearest Cheeky has had a huge influence on the way I write.  When I first began following her I was captivated by the voice in her writing.  I loved it.  I loved that in addition to having something substantial to say she wasn’t afraid to joke around and be silly while saying it.  Up until that point, I only wrote like that in a journal I had to maintain while I was a sophomore in high school.  I always thought writing like that wouldn’t be acceptable or would be ridiculed by other bloggers yet here was Cheeky racking up the hits and comments just being herself.  So I started using my real writing voice instead of the manufactured voice (think Ben Stein) I thought readers wanted.  Since that time, my readership has more than doubled and so has my reader interaction.

Another thing I’ve taken from Cheeky is her usage of pictures and adding hilarious captions to enhance her posts.  You guys know the ones, right?  Good ol’ Hortence?  I love the way she incorporates pictures into her posts.  So I started doing it as well.  Not with Hortence, though.  That would be plagiarism.  Or something equally unethical.

Oh, Hortence! Look at the way this stormtrooper is kissing Cheeky’s ass! It’s so embarrassing.

Basically, what I’m saying is that my dearest Cheeky has been a huge influence on my writing style and I’d like to thank her for opening my eyes to what I was capable of doing with my blog.  You have helped make blogging a much more fun and rewarding experience for me.  I owe some of my success to your inspiration and from the bottom of my heart, dearest Cheeky, thank you.  I know you will do well in your new writing endeavor and wish you all the success in the world.