Tweet Here it is. I can write to my heart’s content meeting and surpassing deadlines if it is for someone else. In fact, it is one of my writerly strengths to submit a piece days before it’s due. But my own work? Sadly, still sitting untouched in Google Drive. I know that writers need a break. I understand that paid work feeds the hungry writer. But the idea that I’ve let this dream of mine slide eats away at this writer’s soul. It makes me feel like a failure and a fake. I see successes like hers and a pulsating…
-
-
Tweet Thank you Stephanie and Jan for reminding me about 2 things: 1) To keep up this blog! 2) To be more compassionate. Their comment comes on the heels of a short answer I compiled for O magazine. If you want to read my little published shpeal on compassion, it’s right here. But the main reason I’m writing this is that I think too many of us get comfy in our writing couches and stop taking chances. Maybe we had HUGE dreams about what it would mean to be a freelance writer and since we didn’t achieve them, we kind…
-
Tweet There’s lots to keep you busy in December. Need I list them? Christmas, Hanukkah, gearing up for your Resolutions list come January. But there are a handful of things you won’t want to forget while you’re busy making a list and checking it twice. Here are 5 things you don’t want to miss if you’re a freelance writer: 1. Say, “Thanks!” We often forget what it was like when we had no clients. When there were no deadline, no phone calls, no projects in the near future. Or worse, when we had nightmare clients who were worse to…
-
Tweet As the holiday approaches, you may be winding down your freelance writing business. Or you may be reaping the benefits of less saturation in the market. More writers taking a holiday means more work for you! If you’re looking for fresh ways to add more work to your portfolio, here are a few tried and true methods that have worked for me in the past and is sure to work for you: 1. Peruse your local pubs. I get about 5 free local publications sent to my address every few months. They’re like hidden job ads for writers sent…
-
Tweet Hurray for daydreaming! It’s the thing you loved to do in school, but what you were most likely to get punished for. Well now there’s legitimate reason to zone off when bored. Yes, according to author Jonah Lehrer’s book Imagine: How Creativity Works, it’s those moments when you’re dazing out the window that your getting the most work done. Perhaps all of us writers knew this intuitively. But Lehrer’s book provides actual research to back that statement up. In it, he describes the work of psychologist Jonathan Schooler and his research on daydreams and their benefits. And what…
-
Tweet I’ve been struggling with the editing process for awhile. A part of that is psychological. I would rather pretend that my piece looks good enough instead of deal with the agonizing reality that it’s far from perfection. But if you want to be a successful writer, this won’t bode well for a long-term career. That’s why I’ve developed a quick system to insure I won’t make a fool out of myself by submitting less than par prose. It’s easy as 1-2-3. After you’ve worked on the final draft of your latest endeavor take a breather. In a day or…
-
Tweet I got the idea for this post while “meditating” so it might sound a tad overzealous. But it came out of a recent laborious task of finding work in Hawaii. Every corner like an inkling of opportunity seemed to land not at an open door, but another wall. How do you keep your cool in a desert of opportunities? Here’s what you don’t do: Don’t show your cards. Don’t react from a place of emptiness. The desperation has a tendency to attract more desperation and less opportunities. Don’t confide in the cynics and the pessimists. They’ll give you more…
-
Tweet The process of writing can seem nebulous. On a conscious level, you are aware that putting butt to chair and pen to pad creates a flow of ideas. But where it comes from seems a lot less clear. Does a writer need to be in fits of rage or a constant cynic to engender passionate pieces of prose? I often wonder if it’s like me and running. It only feels good when it’s bad. In other words, catch me running begrudgingly when all is well in the world, but I’ll pass you if I’m down in the dumps. But…
-
Tweet I don’t know if you’re a big Something’s Gotta Give fan like me. But if you are, you know every single line, every heartbreaking sentence and LOL phrase that made Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson sing on-screen together. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways (the writing, the setting, the fact that Diane played a screenwriter). One of my favorites, however is her genuine vulnerability reflected when she’s with Jack’s character Harry. There’s one scene that does it for me every time. Harry and Erica are in New York when she catches having dinner with a younger…
-
Tweet A few weekends ago, I headed out to my first ever writing retreat class. It was great to gab with writers and nosh on good eats while taking in the view of the breathtaking mountains on the Windward side of Oahu. Besides all of that, I got a lot of practical tips to get the writing flowing. I thought I’d share a few things I’ve learned with you. Inspiration from Music The first one’s pretty fun. Just turn on something instrumental, grab a notebook and a writing utensil, close your eyes and let the music direct your pen. The…