Category: Blogging

Blogging, Writing

Full-Time Writer (Trial Period)

Emily

So, I have recently stumbled upon the opportunity to discover what it might be like if I could make enough money doing what I love.  In other words, I lost my job.  I have decided that I will take one week and act just as if writing were my full-time occupation.  I will work an eight hour day, Monday through Friday, and I will concentrate on the various projects that have recently been shoved to the side because of my stress over my job. 

I feel good about this little venture.  I know that it won’t be permanent (unfortunately, my husband and I do not make enough money for me to sit at home all day), but it will give me a taste of what life might be like for me one day.  It’s an exciting prospect.

I’m also a little uneasy.  After all, I know how I operate.  I start something wonderful and at first I am completely gung ho about it.  I throw myself into what ever project I’ve decided to do and I just go to town.  Then, when that “new project” smell has faded away after a few days, I generally tend to, well, forget about it.  I don’t really give up, per say (such a nasty phrase, “give up”).  It’s as if the wonderful idea that I had just a few short days ago is just gradually shoved down the totem pole by the next brilliant idea and the next and the next, until it’s so far down that I forget I ever had the idea in the first place.  Trust me, many the diet and fitness routine has gone that route and it is not a pretty picture when I realize what I’ve done.  The self-loathing knows no bounds.

However, I believe that this might be just a tad different.  First of all, I have a set amount of time committed to the project.  I will commence this little experiment on Monday, September the 14th and end it promptly on Friday, September the 18th.  The timeline itself is a bonus because I have something concrete to work towards instead of the goal of “forever and ever”.  And the relatively short length of time means that the “new project” smell will not have completely faded away before it is time to end the venture (hopefully, fingers crossed).  Also, I have absolutely nothing better to do for that week.  As I said, I have no job, and I can’t start looking for one until after Sept. 27th (I’m going to Las Vegas with my husband.  Yay!).  So actually this project will keep me from losing my mind to boredom.  That is incentive in and of itself.  And lastly, this isn’t something that I  HAVE to do or I’ll hate myself for all time.  There are a lot of writers who write and have jobs.  I might be one of those writers and I might not.  I’ll never know until I try it both ways.  And I much rather try it for a week and discover that I love it, than decide to do it forever and discover that I hate it.

So wish me luck everyone!  I’ll be sure to let you know if  it all goes well (or not).  We’ll see!

Blogging, Writing

Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Rejection?

Emily

I live in the world of horror known as “the unpublished author”.  Last month, I sent out two stories for contests, stories which I consider to be the best I’ve written.  I’ve polished and shined, cut and added, thrown out and started over on these two until they could not be made any better.  I’ve received favorable feedback from my husband, my mom, my writing instructor, my friends online, even people I work with at the bank.  There is nothing else that I know to do except send them out into the world and let them be judged by those that take it upon themselves to paste together the gloriously glossy pages that we call “literary magazines”.

I waited on pins and needles, constantly checking my email for any kind of a response to my brave act, dreaming of the day that the email would come that would read something like this:

Dear Mrs. Johnson,

We are pleased to inform you that your story has been selected as the winner of (insert contest here) and we would be happy to publish it in our esteemed pages.  Congratulations, you have toiled through the muck and mire, ridden the roller coaster of anticipation and defeat, and come out the other side victorious.  You, madam, may now call yourself a Published Author.  Where may we send your check?

And the emails did come.  But they did not read exactly how I imagined they would.  They were more along the lines of “Sorry, this game piece is not a winner.  Please play again soon!”

When I finally received confirmation that my two darling pieces of fiction had been unceremoniously dumped, I took a moment to reflect on it.  Where had I gone wrong?  Did I need to rewrite yet again?  Were they too short?  Too long?  Too skinny?  Too fat?  Should I just dump them in the little icon called “Recycle Bin” and forget they ever existed?  Would I be eighty and still not be published?  These thoughts and many like them flitted through my mind as I stared at my inbox, my fleeting hopes of success thoroughly dashed.  I stared for a good five seconds.

And then I picked myself up, dusted off my jeans and got right back in line for the next roller coaster ride.  Because there’s really nothing else I can do.  Someday, I’ll write the perfect story, match it with the right editor, send it at just the right moment and maybe, just maybe, get that dream letter in my mailbox.  Until then, I’ll just keep plugging along.  Because I’m not afraid of the big, bad Rejection.  After all, Stephen King got rejected.  So, in a way, if I get rejected too, that means I’m just like Stephen King!  Right?

Blogging

The Fine Art of Procrastination

Emily

I have recently come to the conclusion that procrastination is not a nasty habit, but rather an art form carefully developed and cultivated over time.  Although some people are born with a natural affinity for putting things off, it takes real time and dedication to shape yourself into a full-blown procrastinator.  And truly, it takes a lot of creative energy to convince yourself that you’re being productive while simultaneously doing absolutely nothing of consequence.

Just a few examples of the excuses I myself have come up with to fool my brain (and my conscious) into believing I’m doing something useful:

1.) Sitting on the couch, watching mindless television with my husband = “quality time together”

2.) Rearranging the widgets on my iGoogle page = “organizing so I can find the things I need faster and save time”

3.) Mindlessly flipping back and forth between Myspace and Facebook, waiting for someone to show up and do something = “spending quality time with friends and family”

4.) Watching hours of the Food Network = “enhancing my culinary skills so that ‘someday’ I can host a grand dinner party and wow my friends”

5.) Blogging = “Networking”

You see?  If you have a lot of things to do, lack the inclination to actually do them, and harbor just a hint of imagination, you too can become a master in the art of procrastination.  Enjoy!

Blogging

And So It Begins… (again…)

Emily

And so begins my journey into the intimidating world of blogging… yet again… I have attempted to start blogs on many sites, for many different reasons.  To make friends, to talk about my life, to talk about other people’s lives, because I read somewhere that blogging will promote my writing.  But I have so much to do and so little time to do it in.  Blogging is almost the last thing on my list. 

I have social websites, a mail-in writing class, a novel in desperate need of revision and at least three more in the works, not to mention my myriad of short stories and my devoted fans on Fanfiction.net (see link to your right) who are clamoring for me to update my “Lord of the Rings” alternate reality story as soon as humanly possible.  Not only that, but my creative juices have also overflowed into another medium, YouTube (channel coming soon in Links) where I delve into shaping videos inspired by some of my favorite songs and movies.

Oh, and I have a life outside of the internet.  Let’s not forget my husband, my full-time job, the few friends I’ve made that aren’t just virtual handles on a screen, my mother, my brother (an excited college student going into his second year), and the few little T.V. shows I keep up with, like “Heroes” and “House, M.D.” and let’s not forget my newest addition, SciFi’s “Warehouse 13”.  Not to mention, I’m overweight and really should start a workout routine before I drop dead of a heart attack at the age of thirty.

 Between all of this and my few other hobbies I’ve developed, like my musical endeavors (mostly singing, clarinet, piano and a violin that I have picked up like twice), cooking, and my desire to learn Spanish and French (at least!), it’s no wonder that blogging falls by the wayside.  I have what I believe to be an interesting take on the world, I don’t lose the blogging bug for lack of an opinion, I assure you.  I consistently see the glass as half-full of sunshine and rainbows, and the other half is plagued by idiots.  But with everything else going on in my life, how am I supposed to add a blog to the goulash? 

In every writing magazine I read they sing the praises of promoting your work and your life through blogging.  You should really make this a priority, they say.  Really?  Maybe I’m the only writer with an already overflowing life who’s just trying to find time to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.  Perhaps I’m an anomaly in a strange and wonderful writing world where everyone has plenty of time to do whatever they want and still pen that bestseller and blog to everyone in the world about how grand the life of a writer is.  Maybe I’m the only one with other interests.  Or a job.  Or a family.  Or friends even.

I’m not saying that blogging isn’t helpful.  It probably is.  I wouldn’t be doing it right now if I didn’t believe there wasn’t some merit to the thing.  I’m just trying to give you an idea of the kind of blogger I am, the erratic kind.  I will blog when I feel like it.  It may not always be about my writing, it may not always be about my life, it may not always be this long, but I’m willing to give this blogging thing another try.  I hope you’ll join me on the journey.  Who knows, maybe I’ll actually get something done while I’m at it ;-).