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Community Corner

Know Your Neighbor: Molly Logan Anderson

Besides her blog, Anderson has written for the Chicago Parent and GateHouse News Service.

Oswego writer Molly Logan Anderson looks beyond the trials of everyday life to find the good. She shares these personal, heart-warming and amusing life lessons in her blog Grab the Good.

Grab the Good was launched in early August and incorporates Anderson’s personal blog from the past five years in addition to her weekly nationally syndicated column through the GateHouse News Service.

“Through personal stories, I’m helping people find the good in every day. I want them to laugh, cry and think in a more appreciative way about the good they already have,” Anderson said.

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Before kids, Anderson utilized her technical background, writing computer code and consulting. Throughout her life, friends and family often encouraged her to write but Anderson said that wasn’t her direction or plan.

Then she became a mom and said adios to the crazy hours associated with her career and began “dabbling in writing.”

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Anderson said she started slowly. Her conversational writing style led her to begin with a personal blog. Within four weeks of starting the blog, she’d earned jobs writing business and online newsletters.

Anderson said the work “snowballed” and she was soon writing regularly for Chicago Parent and earned her weekly column with GateHouse News Service.

Anderson’s goal is to blog every weekday. She said a funny thought usually inspires her and occasionally she’ll take on current events. She also incorporates other personal interests including her love for cooking and gardening.

Anderson said her most popular blog thus far was a review of Fifty Shades of Gray and that the hits were off the charts.

“It gave me insight into my blog – that current events draw readers in,” she said.

Though her Shades of Gray review received the most hits, Anderson said her favorite post was her first one:

“What started as a letter to my kids that I initially only shared with family and friends, turned into the perfect way to capture our lives through writing.  It’s long, hilarious, gross, and heartwarming – basically realistic – but if you read it, you’ll understand just what Grab the Good is all about,” she said.

In addition to her blog, Anderson enjoys the variety her writing career offers as she pursues the commercial side of writing.

“My background in developing business requirements for clients helps me assist them to put their passions onto the page now, whether it’s through marketing materials, website content or other forms of copywriting.  I help them focus on the good they have to offer.  That’s how my blog ties into my other types of writing.  The bottom line is, I’m truly focused on helping others find the good in every day,” she said.

Alena Murguia previously worked for Chicago Parent and hired Anderson as a freelance writer. She’s also a mom of three boys.

“I’m a big fan of Grab the Good,” Murguia said. “The blog appeals to anyone who wants to look at the world in a positive way – especially Moms who can get bogged down in the details and challenges of meeting everyone’s needs. Grab the Good is a breath of fresh air and shows that the challenges of parenting are also the rewards.”

Murguia discussed her favorite recent blog submission:

“Molly wrote about how moms are insane and she turned the idea upside down. She showed how being obsessive is a good thing. I was so impressed with the entry and it was fresh and funny,” Murguia said.

“Molly is very real. She is exactly the same in real life as she is on her blog,” Murguia said. “She is not some image.”

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