The question of “selling out” can get convoluted. There is an impression that someone who writes for money – or does anything else for money – is a sellout. This notion, unfortunately, has created the idea of the starving artist. There is this concept of nobility that comes of art for art’s sake without remuneration….
Tag: work
The World Deserves Your Voice
You are not just here to survive – but to thrive. Thus, your voice should be heard. For creatives, this presents unique challenges. Artists tend to face different challenges than hobbyists. The difference is that when you practice art as a hobby – writing, painting, sculpting, and so forth – there’s no pressure to share…
Getting Back on Track
Sometimes life goes off the rails. Getting back on track takes work. Over the past 2 weeks, for no discernable reason, I’ve been less diligent about certain aspects of my work. When it comes to nonfiction and writing articles daily – I’m there. And I feel much of my work has been particularly strong lately….
Never Let Fear Stop You
Fear will lie to you a lot. But don’t let it stop your work. Over the last year or so, I’ve joined several groups on Facebook. They each have a different flavor of relation to writing. Some are nonfiction, some fiction, some specifically sci-fi and fantasy. One thing I see frequently is the fears of…
How Do You Practice Persistence?
Persistence is the key to accomplishing everything. But how does it work? When I was younger, I jokingly referred to myself, more than once, as The King of Indecision. I spent a lot of my 20s and 30s being indecisive. I would stall, delay, and avoid choices and decisions frequently. Why? Because I didn’t want…
Content is King
Ignoring content will be to your detriment. Yes, I write a lot. I blog 6 days a week, plus my podcast and my fiction works. I probably write on the order of 3000 words a day. Six days a week that’s 18,000 words a week. For the sake of argument, let’s decrease that to 15,000…
Getting Comfortable with Getting Uncomfortable
Leaving the norm behind and stepping out of your comfort zone can be uncomfortable. Since college, I have held a LOT of different jobs. I have been an administrative assistant, tech support for two different companies doing four different types of support, benefits administration, sales, retail management, paralegal, marketing assistant, IT manager, and all-around guy-Friday….
The Need to Balance Perseverance and Patience
Perseverance and patience are the keys to getting where you desire to go. Patience has never been my strong suit. That’s why, after 24 years, I finally named my primary fencing sword Patience. This is important because it is a reminder that it takes not only perseverance – but patience to get anywhere with anything….
The Work/Life Balance
Even as an independent, self-employed writer – striking the work/life balance is a necessity. While there are obligations I need to meet to contribute to my household, for the most part, I’m accountable to only myself. Embracing my brand and its affiliated parts – writing (fiction and nonfiction), editing, podcasting, public speaking – requires certain…
Do No Harm But Take No Shit
Some days, you need to push – do no harm but take no shit in the process. Some people are bad at standing up for themselves. They will back down either because they dislike confrontation, they don’t believe that their cause is worthy of fighting, they think they are unworthy, they just don’t know what…