The Authorized Version

Having lived for seven eventful, fun-filled, wonderful years in California, I have always figured that, where coasts are concerned, West is best and East is least. I have slowly been changing my mind. Well, adjusting it.

I still love the west coast. California is peerless. But the East offers so much in terms of history (which I love) and beauty (of which I am a great admirer.) I am determined to explore this coast as much as time and opportunity allow (which may be plenty and could be little to none.)

Right now, I am in Georgia, not far from a place called Lost Mountain, which seems neither to be lost nor a mountain, but is gorgeous, nonetheless. The Pines and Oaks and whatever other trees these happen to be are magnificent. The ones that have recently fallen onto the roofs of houses and cars may be somewhat less so, but even they know how to throw their weight around.

A couple of years ago, Donya and I spent a few days in Savannah. We were impressed with the city’s sense of history. They cling tenaciously to their rich heritage, marking it with monuments, statues, and perfectly spaced squares for the enjoyment of townsman and tourist alike.

Conversely, Atlanta is modern, sleek, with an eye toward tomorrow. It reminds me of Dallas because of its healthy commerce and rapid growth in recent years. Still, there are museums, curio shops, and national parks to remind one of the darkest days in the region’s history: the Civil War.

The city that burned has that war burned into consciousness. There is a residue of discomfort that seems to grapple with the juxtaposed sentiments associated with happiness that this is still the UNITED States and the bitter sadness that the bloodbath ended with the Sons of the South as losers of the conflict.

I am a product of the wild and woolly West. I have lived my life and formed my opinions, beliefs, and habits west of the Mississippi. But the Deep South portion of the East is growing on me.

I can hardly wait to wander north.

More and more, companies are turning to online freelance writers to fill their web content, blogging, sales writing, and copy writing needs. The Internet has opened a whole new world to those who dream of making their way in this world as a writer-for-hire. Not everyone, however, likes it or thinks it a good thing.

Take Matt Richtel, of the New York Times, for instance. This guy believes he sees a similarity between the modern freelance blogger positioned before his computer screen and the sweatshops of the industrial age. Richtel writes:

They work long hours, often to exhaustion. Many are paid by the piece — not garments, but blog posts. This is the digital-era sweatshop. You may know it by a different name: home.

A growing work force of home-office laborers and entrepreneurs, armed with computers and smartphones and wired to the hilt, are toiling under great physical and emotional stress created by the around-the-clock Internet economy that demands a constant stream of news and comment.

Of course, the bloggers can work elsewhere, and they profess a love of the nonstop action and perhaps the chance to create a global media outlet without a major up-front investment. At the same time, some are starting to wonder if something has gone very wrong…

[Read the full article here]

Of course, here is a man with one of those rare, hard-to-land jobs, writing for one of the world’s leading newspapers, casting aspersions on the market that opens doors for the millions not as fortunate. Richtel’s take is, in this writer’s opinion, a continuance of the pervasive superiority complex so many in “mainstream” media exude.

Richtel’s sweatshop comparison falls flat because we live in a world where more employment and educational options exist than ever before. People choose freelancing, even with its long hours, hard work, difficult deadlines, and sometimes hard-to-meet quality demands because it gives them a sense of ownership, of fulfillment.

Richtel’s illustrations of a few prolific bloggers who have died of heart attacks are incredibly cheap shock value. They could have as easily been prolific joggers! As more people blog, more bloggers will eventually die. That’s what we do. We live, we work, we try to matter…and sooner or later, we die.

As traditional sources of information find themselves more and more marginalized and battling to remain prevalent - or just relevant, look for more articles and editorials from them lambasting the freelancers markets.

So, keep writing, my freelancing friends, you have their attention!

Write away. Write now.

Sometimes you get more irons in the fire than you can manage. OK, switch those two “you”s to “I.” Is it just me, or is it pretty doggone easy to say, “I am passionate about (fill in the blank),” and then let everything in the world get in the way of doing it?

Ostensibly, we are passionate about writing around here. After all, the wonderful world of writing is what The Write Crowd is all about. Yet, here my blog sits…unattended. I could blame it on many things. I could excuse myself by telling you that I work a day job, maintain a moonlighting ghost-and-copy writing business, and own three other websites. But you don’t want to hear that. You’re busy, too!

I have learned through the years that more often than not, writing is about 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. There are those rare times when the ratio is reversed. That’s when the words flow, a mighty torrent of epic, passionate, irresistible power. That’s when writing is easy, rewarding, and fun!!! Those times, at least for me, are less common. More often than not, I find myself somewhat inspired…and then obliged to toil and strain and bleed and sweat to  turn that dab of inspiration into something worth reading.

About a year ago, I launched an online writing service through my personal website, writedaddy.com. It took six months to land my first job. When I did, others followed close on its heels, and pretty soon, I found myself inundated with requests. I was writing web content, sales letters, white papers, marketing emails, blog content and various other pieces for a growing - and diverse - clientele. I soon learned that writing is WORK! HARD work.

I owed it to my clients to deliver a quality product. They were paying for passion and wit and charm and poignancy and…I needed to deliver. Consequently, I found myself elbow deep in research. I was reading articles on a litany of subjects, watching videos, listening to audio, camping out at Wikipedia and Google. I always wanted to work as a writer…and be paid to do so. I just hadn’t figured it would really be work.

It is.

Lessons learned:

1. Write when you feel like it. When you don’t feel like it, write some more.
2. Work at your craft. A strong work ethic is even more important than an extensive vocabulary or a vivid imagination.
3. Practice self-discipline. Set a routine that fits the demands of your lifestyle and family dynamics…and stick with it.
4. Don’t forget to include your mate and/or children (or parents) in the planning of your writing schedule. Agree with them on when, where, and how long.
5. Once you have established a schedule, be flexible. Inspiration seldom punches a clock.
6. Don’t neglect your writing…or your life. Balance is absolutely essential.
7. Don’t forget to have fun. All work and no play…

Sometimes, writing is murder. (He wrote.)

Write away. Write now.

Last year we buried my beloved grandmother. She was a beautiful woman, a devoted wife and mother, and a dedicated Christian whose light shined as brightly as any I have ever seen. Watching my aged grandfather, who suffers with dementia, deal with the loss of his life partner moved me to write a fictionalized account of the event.

Please note that this is a work of fiction rooted in truth. It is this author’s attempt to see the world through the eyes of a man whose mind betrays him. I hope you are as moved by reading it as I was when writing it. Just click on the image below to be directed to a full-blown readable version.

All the best to you and yours.

Write away. Write now.

~Gene

Do you blog? I am betting you do. You are here, visiting The Write Crowd because you have an interest in writing, right? Why do you blog? For release? For fun? For family and friends? For money?

There are almost as many reasons to blog as there are blogs. Maybe it is passion about a particular topic that has you blogging. Maybe it is the need to get out whatever is in you. Whatever the reason, it’s a good one…because, well, it’s your reason.

I have a couple of new friends for whom I have done some work. They are each blogging experts, and I thought I would share their blogs here. Maybe you will find their insights as useful and timely as I have. Here they are…

http://easyblogsrus.com/

http://www.bloggingexpertise.com/

If you have a blog that is not X-rated and you would like to tell us about it, use the “comments” section and share it. We are readers, too, you know.

Happy blogging!

Write away! Write Now!

~Gene