Monthly Archives: December 2011

What it Takes

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For the past three years, I’ve derived my living entirely from writing — which I guess makes me “successful.” The past six days have illustrated for me one important trait of successful writers. During that time, I’ve spent time in the following ways

  • Taking a tango lesson
  • Changing and singing to a baby
  • Helping with my older son’s wrestling team
  • Moshing in the pit at a 6-hour folk metal concert
  • Teaching karate
  • Learning about calculus
  • Watching Sesame Street
  • Interviewing staff at a local business
  • Hanging drywall
  • Moving money for investment purposes
  • Learning capoeira
  • Cooking Italian, Cajun and Thai food

The point here isn’t that I’m awesome (though I take full credit that it’s been an awesome week). The point is that writers must have — and keep having — varied experiences if we want to be successful.

Writers are generalists. (Some specialists also write, but that’s not the same thing). The more you learn, the more you do, the more interest you take in the world around you, the more “hooks” you’ll have to hang information on when it comes to doing your work.

For nonfiction writers this widens the number of assignments you can accept. A wide base of experience gives you the ability to competently research many topics — an ability you wouldn’t have with only a few deep areas of knowledge.

For fiction writers, this experience helps you develop compelling situations and interesting characters. More experiences means you can describe scenes and people with details that come from what you’ve actually seen and done. As Joe R. Lansdale puts it, you can always spot a love scene written by a virgin.

Remember, as a writer your main job is to be interesting — or at least to present information in an interesting manner. If you’re not interested, you can’t be interesting.

Thanks for listening.

Friday Fun: Doc Hendley

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Today’s Friday Fun is less fun and more inspiring. This is an older video about an ordinary guy who decided to make a bigger-than-average difference in a very real crisis.

He tells the story best himself. Just watch it. You won’t be asking for your quarter-of-an-hour back.

 

See? I told you.

Now go do something awesome.

 

Writer Entrepreneur: Lifestyle Design Part 1

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Once upon a time, I wanted to be a karate teacher when I grew up. This epiphany hit me when I was 23 and just finishing up a Psychology degree. I spent the next half decade working my way up through the ranks and volunteering to teach at a karate academy in New Mexico. I saved money for starting expenses, then spent two years in Japan — where I got a job coaching a local karate team.

I came home. A year later, I owned a karate school. I loved lots of it, especially the relationships I formed with my students. There were aspects I didn’t love:

  • Making $20,000 a year.
  • Working 80-plus hours a week.
  • Dealing with the hours of daily scut work involved in running a brick-and-mortar business.
  • Rarely having time for vacation.
  • Working evenings with kids at home.
  • Firing people.
  • Collecting on bills.
  • Paying merchant services fees, especially the lease on the credit card machine (seriously, those guys are like the Mafia without any of the grace and charm).
Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad I did that — but I’m equally glad I don’t do that any more. When I closed my school (equal parts bad economy and the factors above), I wound up writing on the strength of the portfolio I’d developed writing for my business.
I’ve had job offers since, some in the martial arts field. I like writing — but not as much as I like teaching karate. However…
  • I make three times the money, working an average of 15 hours a week.
  • My schedule is completely flexible — meaning I can volunteer for my oldest son, and be home for the baby.
  • I have time for my hobbies, including martial arts.
  • We go on three or four vacations a year.
  • My billing is all by check or Paypal, and I rarely have to chase clients.
  • A writing business is simpler than a brick-and-mortar shop.
  • I can write from anywhere in the world.
Which is a long way to say that freelance writing gives me the lifestyle I want. It allows me to be a great hubby and dad, and gives me the time to indulge my wide and varied interests. It’s not for everybody, but if you’re reading this blog — it’s probably for you.
But that lifestyle doesn’t come without work and attention. Part 2 of this series will be some specific techniques and considerations for making freelance writing give you exactly the life you want.