Making a Name

One of the hardest things about being a writer is that occasionally it's easy to slip into doubt about whether your writing is making a difference to others. Whether fiction (providing a much-needed, entertaining escape from reality) or freelancing (giving information someone must need to know somewhere), even NYT authors have to question themselves at times.

 

Not that I've been in that funk lately--I'm soooo wound up for this RWR article to come out (and it has--I've received wonderful notes from writing friends who love it--but I'm still awaiting my copy...but I digress...), so I'm still riding high on that. But in checking my email, I've recently received two cool notes about my writing that give me that sense of external success.

 

THe first is from an author I reviewed earlier in the year. His book on punctuation for writers was just stellar--even invited him to speak to my local RWA group. He emailed to ask if I'd review his collection of poetry. True, it's been out a while but it's still need to be sought out for my opinion. Like it's really worth a dime...lol.

 

The second is from my outstanding web designer who just overhauled my site with the vision I've had forever for the site (if you're here, isn't it just gorgeous?). She read my articles for writers and, once she gets her online review/book magazine revamped (get busy, Jo!) she's interested in featuring me and one of my articles. Way cool.

 

But the coolest is the RWR article, which as I said, is out. Nothing beats that moment of opening the mailbox and seeing the article with your byline--not even the check. The wait is killing me...

 

Beth

Oh, those darned ideas....

What makes ideas so darned elusive when you're looking for them--but they pop their heads up at the weirdest, most inappropriate times?

 

Spent the other morning working on an article for a writer's anthology I was invited to submit to. Had my slant, bullet points (yes, I outline rough drafts) and the draft in my mind ready to be forced onto paper.

 

However, the article had other ideas. It refused to come out in a neat and orderly fashion, so I had to squeeze it out. Like fresh orange juice, it splattered all over my paper, but I took what I could get.

 

Later that morning, at a massively important meeting with the boss and girls at the office, the entire, full-blown article idea that'd been on the tip of my brain came rushing full speed. It had no sympathy for the fact that I was trying to keep up with program changes at work, thinking of the methodology section for my thesis, mentally proofreading something else for work--it just jumped out.

 

I frantically scribbled in my own, unique shorthand way everything flying at me, and it all made sense later in the day when I went back over the notes. Beautiful. Emailed some editors for quotes and fleshed out the rest of the article over lunch.

 

Moral of the story: If the idea ain't there when you want it, just wait. It'll come. And if it doesn't, well, I can't help--but maybe it wasn't the right idea for you.

 

Happy Writing...

Beth

A Perk of Freelancing

As you might know, I'm still having fictional writing withdrawals. I have those moments of weakness where I'm tempted to grab a notebook and start in on a character stalking my thoughts or a plot that won't quit peeking at me from around every corner.

 

But I'm being strong and sticking to what I've decided. Not that it's been tough--I'm a huge believer of the life theory that if you set your intentions, you'll draw those things to you that help your intentions come to fruition, (Ok, so I'm still working on that intention to get Tom Brady to stop by for dinner after practice) and the possible writing assignments have started seeking me out since I made the switch (a profile of a Fulbright scholar for a big local magazine, a national teaching magazine looking for expertise on teaching ESL students, a request from an anthology on how I got one particular article published...).

 

Anyway, I digress (as usual).

 

In working on the article for the teaching magazine all day yesterday (the outline basically wrote itself last week), I couldn't get the opening paragraph to work for me. It didn't want to be about a student and it didn't want to be a spotlight on my school. I wrote both, then just plain dove into the meat of the article. Before I went to bed, I felt a little defeated that the article didn't come as smooth as the outline. I felt like giving up on it.

 

This morning, bright and early, as I looked at what I did yesterday then at the schedule deadline I'd given myself for writing the rough draft, I realized I have another entire week to finish the rough draft. Woohoo. I couldn't do that with my fiction--there is no light at the end of the tunnel (unless you're pubbed and on deadline)--but with the nonfiction, it's a little grease on the gears to know that meeting the deadline is the real challenge. With the fiction, I'd have just given up and started a new story.

 

Don't tell me, fiction writers, that you haven't done that...

 

Beth