freelance writing & other disguises

Having a multitude of thoughts today, as usual. It's warm out, and sunny (ah, the glories of daylight savings time for our non-agrarian country--it's silly, but I do love all the "extra" light), and life is just so full! Hmm, I think I've been bitten by springtime follies and excitement, and it's not even officially springtime yet. I am, of course, supposed to be working on deadlines, but here it is after 5 p.m. and I haven't even cracked open the files yet. Ahem. But it's a beautiful spring day, she whines! Note that I am at my laptop, inside, and actually writing at the moment. But I'm writing in my nonpaying (although much-loved), deadline-free blog as well as (gasp) web surfing, as a friend who just walked by and came in to say howdy pointed out. (I'm also listening to the quiet background hum of Lakshmi Singh's voice on NPR--can I count that as time well spent?) Anyway....

So I was just checking out some other people's thoughts on freelance writing and blogging (see here, and here, and here, for a brief example of some of my procrastinatory habits) and triggered my own juices as well.

I am a freelance writer. Does that mean I make my entire living from it? No. Does that mean that I spend all my time writing, looking for writing jobs, or setting up my freelancing website? No. But I am still a freelance writer, and I have the invoices and lovely checks to prove it, baby. I also have the background (insatiable reader, long-time writer, worked in the industry for years, etc.) and the definite desire to make my own way in the world, unencumbered by the tyrannical purview of dictatorial bosses. Hee hee.

However. I freely admit that the solitary life of the writer isn't necessarily all that. Have I ever longed for the camaraderie of some of my day jobs? The silly office gossip that spiced up the required hours of attendance? The steady gratification of paycheck, perks, and paid time off? Yes, yes, and yes. Sometimes I still do, especially in my down moments (They happen. Just ask my friend David and he'll tell you all about my moods, to which he is subjected on the phone from 2,000 miles away.) Give me the title! The salary! The peace of a daily purpose! My mother encourages all this too, with typical motherly love and concern. (Thanks, Mom. It's really very sweet!) And I do, in fact, have a "day job" at the moment, which fulfills many of my needs (especially the money part, of course.)

Writing as solitary profession is hard for most people. Even right now, I am in a coffeehouse, surrounded by others and their energy, and I find it buoys me. But still. I long to be a professional writer, which means to me that my entire income is derived from my writing, preferably both freelance and fiction. (See earlier posts about my fictional aspirations.) And that, my dears, demands time alone, writing. Even if I am in a public place, surrounded by others. (Who, oddly enough, are all also on laptops, lost in their own worlds of whatever they are doing, fingers tapping away on their keyboards, occasionally chuckling out loud at some hidden wonder on their screens. It's amusing.)

All right. I have expounded with brilliance on the state of being a freelance writer. Now I do need to get back to the nuts & bolts of said endeavor, and actually write something that will pay me, all the while apparently disguised as a student or other coffeehouse lurker, as I have decided most of my fellow chair-sitters in here are. Although I may do just a little more surfing first... It's research. Really.

Oh, and by the way, check out my friend Rachel's new blog, Be Whole Now. Cool stuff. She's also a writer, and woman who wears many hats.

freelance writing & other disguises

snow, snow everywhere

The snow is falling straight down in big, fast flakes. Barren trees outside my window stand tall, naked, and seemingly not cold at all, while I shiver just looking at the view. My shiver, however, is one part chill, one part delighted memory, and one part thrilled anticipation. Snow is my friend, especially after I finally learned how to ski last winter. When I consider my current goal of learning to tele this winter, the shiver becomes a downright orgasmic zip of mini-shivers all over my body—dozens of little geese walking over my grave, that wash of physical feeling over the body, reminding me of my human skin and limited time to play as much as I can, while I still can. I have no desire to cheat death by being a reckless fool on the slopes—just enough of one to send a tightening around my chest and a clarity into my vision. Ah, thank god for mountains in the West! And for delicious snow.

The backyard of my back apartment is a little winter sanctuary. If I angle my head just right and don't cast my eyes upward to see the suburban street I call home, it's almost as if I'm in the wilderness, watching this winterfall all around me. The flakes are becoming even bigger, they fall even faster, more determined to dump its gorgeous contents all over us, to show us how it is sweeping the land, dominating in its time to be king.

This particular snowfall is wet, heavy, and very steady. It is piling up outside my door, knocking out the power now and again, and, most vexingly, interrupting my satellite service (oh, the indignity. I would like to have watched the presidential debates.). This storm will go on for a while, encouraged as it is from lands even farther to the west, where a “monster storm” (MSN's words) is wreaking havoc all over the place, which basically boils down to one thing: it will snow a lot more out my way. A lot more. And being a wet, heavy snow, that also means more avalanche danger, which is pretty freaky as far as I'm concerned. Not interested in ever meeting one of those. No thanks.

However, from a strictly environmental viewpoint, this weather is also a good thing. Weathercasters were predicting La Nina, a dry spell. Snort. Not hardly! This sort of weather is good, good, good in the long run. Curse it now, but we will be loving it in the truly dry heights of summer.

As someone who wants to learn to tele-ski (oh yes yes yes!), this weather is exciting and urges me out the door. However. As a writer with very specific goals, this weather also urges me to sit my rear down and WRITE. I have been allowing myself to be distracted, of late, by Facebook. Good grief, is that thing addictive. Check it out yourself if you don't believe me!

Sigh. So, dear reader (yes, singular; I think I'm down to one), that is exactly what I'm going to do tomorrow, instead of exploring the continuing delights of skiing. As I also hold a day job, skiing during the week is not an option at the moment. Which is why I am moving toward supporting myself completely from my freelancing! So I can make my own schedule. Luckily, I have the know-how behind me to make this happen. When we are pushed into situations that are truly uncomfortable, we will finally really embrace change...

Back to winterfall. It will cradle my dreams tonight, listen to them with a soft and deep silence, punctuated only by the gentle whush of new snowflakes adding onto the deep piles everywhere, coating everything, the tree branches, rooftops, my truck. (Hmm. I need to make sure I'm not parked under a tree!)

snow, snow everywhere