This person contacted me today to see how the article was coming along, and I had a panic attack.  As soon as I saw their name in the from field, I knew I was in trouble.  I sent them an apology letter and told them what had happened.  But more important, I took responsibility for my actions.  I didn’t make any excuses, like the dog ate my computer or anything like that.  I was honest and told them that I’d forgotten about the email.

This person sent a message back and sounded like they understood and had forgiven me, but I guess time will tell.  I went ahead and finished the article, then told the client that there was no charge.  I feel so guilty for spacing them off, that I didn’t think asking for money would be appropriate.  I had made a mistake but that doesn’t make it easier for a client who’s expecting an article on time.

In my real world life, I’m a Boy Scout leader.  One of the things I try to teach the kids, and my own children for that matter, is that we all must be responsible for what we do and say.  It’s the same thing for writers.  When someone asks us to write for them, we have to be responsible enough to do the work in a timely manner, and make sure that they’re happy with the end results.

I hope the client is happy with the article, and that they will come to me again in the future.  Though it’s true that stuff happens, it’s also true that we writers have an obligation to meet our deadlines and have the decency to be held accountable for what we put down into words.  When there are a few or a hundred other people out there reading the things we have to say, we need to take into consideration that those words may hit home with some.  We need to be responsible writers.

I’m thrilled to admit that I have 5 clients that I write for on a regular basis. You have no idea how cool that is for me. Since I was a little kid, I’ve always wanted to be a professional writer. I had no idea what that entailed at the time, but I sure do now. So, here’s my take on what it is to be a real writer. For my real writing buddies out there, please bare in mind that I have had no official education in this area, I just knew this is what I wanted to do, and I did everything I could to see it happen. Ok, I guess you could call 10 years of trying to make things work on the Internet before getting to this point a formal education, but you know what I mean.

Ok, now for those of you who want to be professional writers, here’s what you need to be aware of. First of all, you will have clients who think you’re the greatest writer in the world, and you’ll have clients who will have you rework your articles a hundred times before they’re happy. You can’t please everybody no matter how hard you try. You will also have the client who will tell you pretty much what they want word for word. I used to hate these types of clients until it dawned on me that they were paying me to let them write the article. Well duh!!!

You will have periods when you think the work will never end. Guess what, it does. Just when you think you can’t handle one more assignment, it all goes away. First time this happened to me, I thought I’d done something wrong. Don’t take it personal. Unless your clients have come to you and said, “Hey, you suck”, it could just be that they’ve got all the articles they need or that they’re just out of money. This is when you need to have a few projects on the back-burner. I have several, sometimes way too many. Yeah, I’m one of those people who has too many irons in the fire.

You will also have clients who order a couple of articles, then suddenly won’t have the funds to pay you. This is where a writer’s life can get sticky. Depending on the client, you need to stay on top of this matter. Don’t be too overbearing, or they won’t pay at all. However, if you let it slide, you may never see your money. If you run into this, my suggestion is to send gentle reminders about once a week. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of reminding them. They’re busy people too. I can’t tell you what to do if they don’t pay you at all, as I haven’t run into this problem yet.

Finally, be prepared to bang your head against your keyboard on regular occasions. Some of the assignments that clients send you will have you tearing your hair out. You’ll be pretty sure that the client is a total nutjob and wants to take you with them. When this happens, my suggestion is to breathe in deep, close your eyes, then dive in with both feet. Sometimes riding the crazy train is a good thing.

Honestly, I can’t say if this is the life of every freelance writer. This is the way it works for me, and so far it’s been well worth the time. If you can take a little rejection, a lot of frustration, and find it within yourself to laugh off the garbage, then you’ll be a writer in no time. It only took me 10 years.

I live in Western Nebraska and we have a saying around here that goes, “If you don’t like the weather, stick around a minute and it will change”, and truer words were never spoken. In just the past few days we’ve seen a serious electrical storm that struck a transformer in our town and took out the electricity (Monday morning). Then we got to experience our annual spring blizzard (Monday afternoon), then warm winds that melted everything into huge puddles (Tuesday), and then 55* temperatures and sunshine, (Today). Tomorrow, we’re expecting more snow and by Friday, it’s supposed to be in the 60’s.

The point I’m trying to make is that when you’re working on a story or an idea for a scene, there is no such thing as “unbelievable weather”. Trust me, I’ve seen it all right here in my own backyard. I’ve even seen a phenomenon that has been referred to as “rare” and “a once in a lifetime” moment. That phenomenon is when it thunders-lightnings-and snows. Yes, snows. I read recently on National Geographic ’s website that this is something that is extremely rare. Oddly enough, I’ve seen it happen more than once in my lifetime. I had no idea that it was such a rare event.

When you write about a strange event, in this case something pertaining to the weather, you don’t have to stick to what everyone else deems as normal. You can go above and beyond the norm and still create a believable story. There are instances when you can take your story too far. But, when it comes to adding little details to your, such as thunder-lightning-and snow, go for it. Minor details like these will give body to your story and make your reader feel the scene, not just read about it.

My name is Christine and I am a Thesaurus junkie. I grabbed my first Thesaurus copy while still in high school. All the kids in English class were doing it, and I jumped in without a care in the world. After all, I was young and I’d had a taste of the writing drug. It didn’t take me long to become completely hooked.

By the time I had gotten out of high school, I carried a Thesaurus with me all the time. I always had a story in my head, and was always on the lookout for just the right words. Being the naive child that I was, I had no idea what I was doing by mixing story telling and thesaurus use at the same time. It took me a long time to see the downward spiral I was heading in.

One I got married and began having children, I knew I had to do something about my Thesaurus habit, but I just couldn’t stop. I was reading my thesaurus for several hours a day. When the kids were taking a nap, I’d sneak in a few pages. While I was making dinner, I’d scan a quick peak when nobody was looking. I even found myself staying up till all hours of the morning rummaging through my thesaurus for odd words I knew I’d never use in a story. I just needed my Thesaurus fix.

It wasn’t until about 2 years ago, that I realized that my Thesaurus habit had gotten out of hand. I began yelling at the people around me, as I was sure that one of them had stolen my Thesaurus and hidden it from me. I tore my house apart and eventually found it under my pillow, where I’d had it the night before. I had gotten so intoxicated on mixing and matching words that I had totally blacked out. That was when I knew it was time to seek help.

I have worked very hard these past few years to curb my thirst for words have similar meanings to the ones I have in my head. I can’t say that I’m 100% Thesaurus free, but I have forced myself to look inside myself for my word weaving fix. Today, I am down to only one page a day. With any luck, I’ll be able to kick my Thesaurus habit for good, or at least stop using it as a dictionary.

My name is Christine and I am a Thesaurus Addict.

For anyone who’s had the itch to write over the years, it’s a pretty good bet that you’ve got something similar to my situation.  You may not have quite the volume I’ve got, but you’ve probably got notebooks lying around, computer files sitting there doing nothing, or just little slips of paper with basic ideas scratched on them.  So, pick them up, rummage through them, get them organized in a way that makes some sort of sense.

As I sat here going through a few of my old notebooks, I began to think about all the things I’ve been interested in over the years.  I’ve also come to the realization that I may need a therapist, but that’s a different story.  The point is that over time, you’ve surely come up with a few ideas that you may have thought were totally worthless, but may now be something you can use.  You never know unless you take the time to go back and look them over again.

A great way to take stock of all your past writings and scribbles, is to sit down and get them organized.  I do this by creating several different files in my computer for different things.  I have files for writing prompts, story starters, mythology, historical facts, and article starters.  I never know what I’ll find to go in each of these files, but it’s a blast looking through some of my older notebooks and getting them put into their prospective files.  It’s also a great way to go back to the folders and see some of the things already in there that I’d forgotten about.  Over time, you can create a ton of ideas for those days when there just doesn’t seem to be any inspiration.

So, rummage through all your old ideas and see if you can’t find a few diamonds in the rough.  You might be amazed at how many things you thought to be bunk, could end up being just the thing to get you back on track and writing your little heart out.  Go ahead, I dare you.

Here’s how this little thing works.  Look around your room and pick out 3 items.  Doesn’t really matter what they are, just pick three things.  I’ll play along to give you an idea.  As I look around my desk and the surrounding area, I notice these items:

1.) Coffee Cup
2.) Telephone
3.) Ballpoint Pen

Now, use these objects in a story.  For me, I’m thinking of a romantic type of story.  I’ll use these items as a way for the 2 main characters to get to know each other.  The coffee cup makes me want to set the scene in a coffee shop, the phone makes me want to have one of the characters talking on their cell phone, and the pen makes me want that character writing something down in a notebook.

Ok, now I have my basics, and I can really get started on the story itself.  I know that the main scene will take place in a coffee shop.  In my mind, I see my main female lead, let’s call her Becca, sitting at a table, alone.  She’s on her cell phone, talking to her boss about her next assignment.  I see her as being a journalist and she’s hot on the trail of her next story.  She’s writing as fast as she’s talking, and suddenly her pen breaks and shoots ink all over her notebook, her hand, and spots her new blouse.

The gentleman sitting at the next table gets hit in the face with a drop of ink, and notices Becca frantically trying to clean up her mess, without making a bigger one.  That’s when he reaches into his pocket and hands her a new pen.  She looks up, and giggles a little at the spot of ink on his cheek.  She takes the pen, finds a clean sheet of paper, and continues on with her writing.  So, where will the story go from there?  I don’t know yet, but I’m loving what I’ve done so far.

So, when you’re fighting with something to write about, look around at the mundane objects sitting right in front of you.  Pick 3 and take it from there.  What worlds can you create from the little things you probably take for granted?

For new writers and authors, you need to remember that no one will come read your work simply because you’ve written something.  You have to let them know that you’ve written something, and where they can find it.  I’ve found many younger and newer writers now have blogs where they post their stories and poetry.  But, they get frustrated because no one ever reads their work, or never leave comments.  Here’s a couple tricks that might help.

If you’re a regular visitor to any forums, be sure to leave a link to your site in your signature.  This will bring people who already know a little about you to your site.  Also, create a signature in your emails, so that anyone you communicate with can find your site.  You would be amazed at the amount of traffic this will bring in.

If you visit other blogs and leave comments, make sure to add a link to your blog there.  Most blog comment sections will ask you for your name and website, so you don’t have to worry about spamming the comments section with an unwanted link.  One thing to remember here, is that you should always leave a viable comment.  Don’t just blurt something out in order to post your site’s link.  Chances are that you’re comment will be deleted without being seen.

If you have several stories and poetry in different places, create a page on your blog or website that will lead your readers to all the different places where your writing can be found.  If you’ve written a book, or had a story published in an anthology, be sure to add a link to where that book can be purchased online.

When it comes to getting the word out about what you can do, you have to be your own best PR person.  Nobody can market your work as well as you can.  Don’t be afraid to showcase your own work, but don’t be conceited.  A brilliant editor once told me that the best writers are their own worst critics.  The writers who are sure they are the greatest writers alive are the ones who usually need the most work.  Be proud of your work, but don’t be over confident.  If you work hard, allow others to find your work, and continue to improve on all you do, it won’t take long to build a regular reader base.  And with regular readers, comes regular traffic.

Now, on to the business at hand. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know all there is to know about the writing industry. However, I learn something new all the time and as long as I continue to learn, I know I’m on the right path. One thing I’m learning as I go is that the things you experience in your daily life can be used in your quest to become a better, and a more creative, writer.

There’s an old saying that tells you to write what you know. Personally, I believe that if you strive to write about things you’ve got to research, you become a more well-rounded person. But, what I’m getting at here is that a lot of people don’t take into consideration everything they know. Writing what you know, doesn’t just mean writing about what you’re an expert in. It goes much deeper than that.

For me personally, I have a lot of things that I can take into this subject. I’m the child of divorce, I’m a mom, I’ve been a Boy Scout leader for 11 years, and I’ve worked with the public since I was 16 years old. Each of these elements can be used in the “write what you know” topic. Let’s use the Boy Scout experiences as an example.

In Boy Scouts, you need to learn a lot of stuff. First of all, you need to know first aid. It’s not a requirement, but it’s a really good idea. Because of this, I’ve been able to create a few articles about putting together first aid kits, ideas on emergency preparedness, and what to do in case of minor scrapes and burns. In the fiction genre, I can use this to create a mother who has to rescue one of her children or someone else around here. The possibilities are endless.

Another part of my Boy Scout experience is that I spent many years going to Boy Scout camp. This is a week long endeavor, and I learned a lot about myself and what I’m capable of. But more than that, I came up with some killer ideas for short stories. I’m currently working on a romantic story that takes place at a summer camp. No, there are no Scouts in the story. LOL

Take a little time to sit back and reflect on all the experiences you’ve had throughout your life. No matter how mundane they might seem right now, they could be used as fodder for the next great story, or as a way to help someone else out who is looking for answers. If you’re going to write what you know, reach down deep inside and collect all the data you have to work with.

Ok, now I can’t say that these will work on everyone who stops by, but who knows.  Maybe one little idea will help at least one person find something to get back into the writing game.  If that happens, I consider this a success.  So, here are a few of the things I do to get myself into the writing mood.

Think about someone from your past.  An old boyfriend/girlfriend, your favorite high school teacher, the one person that made your skin crawl.  Doesn’t matter who it is, just sit back and think about them for a minute.  Now, set that person into a character in a story.  Make them the hero, the villain, the reason behind the story, again this really doesn’t matter as long as you turn them into a character.

Talk to yourself in a mirror.  Ok, stop laughing, I know how ridiculous that sounds, but try it.  The trick is to NOT see yourself.  Did that make sense?  Here’s what I mean.  Look at yourself as though you’re looking at one of the characters in a story.  Use various voice tones, facial expressions, head movements.  Get a feel for what you think you’re character would be like if you were to meet them in person.  (Word of caution, don’t let your kids see you do this, they’ll think you’re nuts).

Write out a list of single words.  They don’t have to make any kind of sense, just write whatever words come to mind.  Milk, frog, plague, dinosaur—whatever.  Just write until you can’t think of anything else, then go back through the list and pick out the words that really catch your eye.  Why do those words catch your eye?  Where else can you go with those words?  Run with it.

Finally, if you just can’t seem to get the words to come out, write a letter to yourself.  Explain to yourself what’s going on in your head, in your life, whatever.  Put all your feeling on paper/computer screen and get them out of your system.  All your anxieties, all your frustrations, all your emotional traumas.  Scream on paper, tell yourself off, do whatever it takes to make the words come alive.  Believe it or not, you’ll find yourself writing like your fingers are on fire.

Every writer has good days and bad days.  If you’re finding yourself in a slump, try a few of these little tricks to get back into the swing of things.  Better yet, come up with a few of your own and get back to doing what it is that you love to do; write!

One of my best buddies is a great guy named Garry Conn.  If you ever have any questions about the business of blogging, he’s your go-to guy.  Someone asked him about hiring a writer to do their writing for them, and that’s when my buddy not only wrote an amazing review about my services, he went so far as to do a video blog about it.  I was both humbled, and horrified.  What if I can’t live up to all that he made me out to be.

Writing for the Internet is a tricky business.  It all comes down to writing in a way that sounds normal, but will still catch the attention of the search engines.  It’s not easy, but it can be done.  I know because I’ve been doing it for almost 2 years now.  But, my dilemma is that I don’t see myself as being all that good at it.  In my mind, I’m just a goober country hick from Nebraska that fell into a pile of crap and came out looking like a writer.

Think about all the things you do as a writer.  If someone was to come along and tell the world about all your fabulous qualities, how would you handle it?  What would you do if your reputation was on the line?  All comments on this are more than welcome.