Excuse me, I hope you don’t mind. I am
going to take a small detour from my usual topic with this post. I would like
to pause and reflect on why it is that I do what I do. Why is it that I write?
My writing career is a delightfully twisty
journey which has never left me bored. No straight lines for me. It was in 2005
when my BA was nearing completion that I had to decide how I was going to
utilize what had cost a fortune to acquire. My skill set was formed through a
major in History with a minor concentration of both Sociology and English. I
knew how to research and write. Not only did I have the ‘know-how’, I loved the
work. So I felt a career in writing was the natural result.
My writing career was actually my second
career, but it was the first time I had chosen a career. My first career I fell
into, with this career I had designs. So I began to volunteer for local
newspapers, I can still remember the buzz I got when my first article was
printed. That euphoria has simmered a bit, but there are still some projects
which provoke the high.
I have not yet pursued post-graduate work,
though I know it is around the corner. I am educating myself at the present,
which is one of the strongest ways I learn. But I am realizing there are
wonderful resources out there and I am planning to tap into them.
It was only a few months ago I happened to
stumble across the website Make a Living Writing while cruising my LinkedIn
site. I was quick to realize this site had much to offer me so I signed up and
began to follow it. Since then, I often access the information Carol shares. It
was not too long ago that I made a trip into the Freelance Writers Den; which
is an educational resource offered through Making a Living Writing website, and
once again paused.
The Freelance Writers Den looks to be a
wonderful way to begin some post-graduate work. I know I would not be getting a
certificate or documentation but the skills I would acquire would serve me
well. I need help figuring out how to bust into the magazine market, how to
scope out jobs which pay a decent wage, I need mentoring with the work I do
online and how to network and market myself. I have so much to learn I suspect
the Freelance Writers Den would be a fabulous first step in figuring out that
which has stumped me thus far.
As a writer I have lots of wonderful hopes
and dreams. These dreams serve me well as I formulate short and long term
career goals. My favorite writing career dream is that I have a book publish
with great reviews. I often visualize this dream focusing in on how such a
success would make me feel. Then I buckle down and create goals which I believe
will lead me to the realization of this favorite dream. I believe lack of
information has been a barrier to my accessing all that I wish to. Possibly
post-graduate work through a source like Freelance Writers Den would remove
that barrier.
It is interesting to note that Making a
Living Writing is actually hosting a contest. I love contests, they offer me
new writing ideas and allow me to once again dream about possibilities. So with
this blog post I am actually entering into the contest. The prize is a free
month in the Freelancers Writers Den. What a great opportunity to see what it
is all about before I invest in a membership. I felt it was a wonderful opportunity
which I did not want to miss. Now, I step back and let my imagination run wild,
and dream.
©H. Ballantyne 2012
I have also found Freelance Writers Den to be a place for good information. I am in the process of writing mystery novels in my spare time and have found that there are some very excellent books to read on this subject. I have a list of them on my website at http://taylorsbookpub.com/fiction-writing-books/ Check them out as they will help you to understand what is necessary to getting published! Good luck in the contest!
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