Hazards Of Writing

A while back on writing.com I created a poll asking the method people chose to write with. Poll takers could select form the following six choices.

1. Computer all the way - Bells and whistles. Everything convenient


2. Typewriter/word processor - I still like a little taste of old with some modern


3. Paper with pencil/pen - I am old fashioned and refuse to enter the modern world. Besides I have more control this way


4. I keep it all in my head, why write it down, that takes too much time


5. All of the above - I like to keep my options open.


6. Other - e-mail me your option

It seems most writers prefer to use a computer when they write. Me, I am old fashioned. I prefer to use a pen/pencil and tablet of paper. After I have my piece written, I put it in my computer. After I have my work in the computer and saved in my writing briefcase in the appropriate folder I can feel free to submit it to some of my favorite sites for consideration for publishing in eZines. My favorite is Triond.

I know you are wondering why I would post about a poll I wrote and entitle it "Hazards Of Writing". Quite simply, this is not a post about the poll nor its results. I have been giving a lot of thought of late to my life of writing and how it has evolved in the last 30 years. Yeah, I was in a bit of shock too when it hit me that I first started writing 30 years ago. When I was 13 years old and a seventh grade student in junior high the only way I could write was with a pen/pencil and paper. This was very hazardous. Pens liked to bleed or "explode" and I would get ink all over me. Pencils would wear down fast and I would have to find a sharpener and sharpen the pencil taking time away from creativity. And paper, well there was always the occasional paper cut that came with this.

Since this is still my chosen method, I still have similar hazards (mostly paper cuts though). However, I have been learning other hazards of late. About a year ago with my health diminishing and my driving getting worse, I contemplated retiring and just focusing on my writing. I figured I could take the time and establish myself as a freelance writer in order to continue to make a living while I concentrated on the writing that makes me happy and fulfilled. In march the General Manager of the television station where I worked told us that the station was being sold and all of us could be looking at being out of work by June. We would receive a decent severance package and I should also have my full inheritance from Daddy's passing last year.

The manager remained optimistic that my department would not be losing their jobs with this sale. I relaxed. However, in September he held another meeting to advise that while the station is still on the market, since the station had gone with a national network the current owners felt they could run the station with only two people. so eleven people (including me) were losing their jobs as of October 31st. So why did I give these details? Easy, I lived through the shock of a month and a half. In my mind knowing I had to have a plan, my heart was not into it.

I am now out of work, my medical condition dictates that I cannot get just any job so what am I to do? I write. Well, it is not that easy. Here come the hazards. While I have some contacts and places to submit my work (i.e. Triond) these places either pay no money or pennies for each piece submitted.I cannot make a living these days on thirty cents a month. another hazard I am finding is actually a reminder that I am not a journalist. I write from my heart and cannot force the words to come out and make sense on the paper. So what am I to do?

I write. I will write every chance I can and try to move the words to the paper just a tad faster then they usually come out. I look to my friends, those I care about to be fodder for my pen. yes there are hazards and this is a difficult situation I have never faced in my life. However, it is something I can overcome. In my life, there have been very few challenges I have not been able to overcome (usually dealing with extreme heights or roller coasters) so I know this one will be conquered. However, if anyone has a line on a nice biography or memoirs I can write, please let me know.

The Written Heart

Croi ~ Heart; Scrite ~ Written

The heart written or the written heart. It does not matter how it is spelled, it is always the same. Earlier this year when I told a friend I have known since high school that I wanted to get into freelance and ghostwriting, she begged me not to. Some would think this very unfeeling and possibly cruel for such a long-time friend to say. You could not be further from the truth.

At the tender age of thirteen sitting in my very dull, very brutal (the mind of a thirteen year old) seventh grade English class, I was introduced to poetry in a way I had never been before. Like classical music (thrust down my throat in elementary school I came to love it after high school) I was introduced to poetry in a manner that caused me to despise it. However, Mr. Leggore introduced this subject with such enthusiasm; and instead of reading we would be writing our own work and learning the possibilities that lie within letters, words and stanzas. While there would be some style I would not care for, there would be others I would embrace.

Very shy and very awkward I struggled to be able to express myself. In this class I found my heart along with my voice. I did not know that the two things could be connected. In my case, they are. Even now, thirty years after I penned my first poem, I struggle at times to express myself vocally. Music and writing songs I sung had also been a way for me to share my heart with those I care about. Illness has taken the song out of my voice, but not out of my heart. Once again, I need to utilize the written word to express my heart. This is what my friend Denise was concerned with when I gave her my news. She thought I would be forsaking my heart to write shallow, inane dribble for other people that could not possess heart nor voice.

I reassured my friend that while some of the articles I hoped to write may be in the same field with dribble and only spouting facts, I would never abandon my heart, soul and voice. It is my hope to make a meager living at freelance while allowing me time to really focus on writing from my heart. This blog is set this day, Tuesday November 18, 2008, to provide a place for me to write my true feelings regarding articles and other writings I am delving into. Here and only here will I allow myself to "wear my heart on my sleeve" to a degree. Enjoy!!!