Getting Over 'Gilmore Girls'

Where is Rory Gilmore now? CNN? The New York Times? Shacked up writing with Jess?

The series ended in 2007 and I still haven't gotten over not knowing how Rory Gilmore's journalism career turned out. That's right--her career. It's what drew me to the show from the beginning and kept me hanging on for seven seasons. Alexis Bledel's book-loving, Havard dreaming, brainiac Rory really resonated with me.

Sure, Lauren Graham was beyond fabulous, Stars Hollow a hoot and the rapid fire pop culture references wildly entertaining. I would have tuned in just for that, but not obsessively. No, it was definitely the writer in me connecting with Rory's own journalistic aspirations that bred the need to see her succeed.

So the series left me hanging. Rory said "no" to Logan's proposal (Yay!) to forge ahead with her career and I was left with an ending that was the beginning of what I tuned in for. Every once in awhile, talk of a "Gilmore Girls" movie pops up and gets me all hopeful. Finally, some answers! But then it dies down and I'm still left wondering.

What television series are you still hung up on?

Photo credit: Jason McELweenie / Wikimedia Commons

Facebook: Freelance Writer Frenemy #1

Facebook. I rarely get online without checking in there first. It's my virtual social outpost. The welcoming bar I belly up to where the drinks are cheaper, conversation wittier and the games free.

                        "Making your way in the world today
                         Takes everything you've got;
                         Taking a break from all your worries
                         Sure would help a lot.
                         Wouldn't you like to get away"

                                   -- "Cheers" theme song lyrics

Sounds idyllic. Except I'm a freelance writer. Most of my working hours are spent online. So this pleasant outpost of enjoyment is actually a tempting productivity suck.

Me with my #1 Frenemy.

It's not like online writers can ignore social networking completely. Especially the big FB. It's the perfect frenemy. So nice, giving us fan pages to sync up our work, blogs and tweets to broadcast to our network. Providing us with the perfect platform to build our fan bases and connect with clientele, all while insidiously claiming the time we are supposed to be writing.

Damn your usefulness.

So, yeah, Facebook, we can hang--when I have nothing better to do.

What's your Facebook relationship: friend, foe or frenemy?

Enthusiastically Embracing New Writing Endeavors

Yesterday, we talked about diversification, but mainly in terms of writing for someone else. Now I want to focus on our own start-ups, the blogs and websites we enthusiastically create to carve out our own little niches in the world. Out of all the writers I know only a few don't have their own writing endeavors. We're an entrepreneurial lot.

I'm excited about all the writing opportunities we can and do create for ourselves. These passion projects often don't make a dime for months. It doesn't matter. We keep at it because we believe in the idea. We embrace our vision, meld it with our drive and carry the whole shebang out with our storytelling. Sometimes even opening our platforms to other writers' voices.

So, I am sharing  my two newest writing endeavors. They are both still in development stages, but, in the spirit of this blog and to gain some accountability, I feel I should spill the goods.

Dreading Diversification? Don't

Writing venues come and go; be it websites, magazines or publishers. Topics become uber competitive or obsolete. Freelance writers get this. We talk endlessly of eggs and baskets--diversification pontification at its finest. Yet many of us dread actually doing it.

We shouldn't, but we do.

Why does diversification make so many of us apprehensive? Fear of rejection (so they say, 'no'. Next!), unsure of how to proceed (100s of websites and books out there to walk you through it), not enough time (Are you really that busy or is it an excuse?)--the list goes on.

My duck-and-run urges and nervousness come along when it's time to submit that very first article. I'm a winner! They want my work--but what if they change their minds? (What good is that acceptance high without a payday? Oh, not a good fit? Did I mention, 'Next!'?)

The thrill of the hunt: Which outlet is your next target?

Diversification is simply a matter of casting as many well-baited lines as possible. See what you reel in. Toss out the gigs that are too small and don't worry about the big one that got away. There will be another chance to hook it proper. Simple as that.

Challenging Creative Conundrum

What do you do when you need to write something, perhaps a blog post for a certain A to Z Challenge or any other assignment, and cannot settle your mind into 'work mode'? Do you walk away and leave it undone? Sit down and face the blank screen until something comes?

Wordle or my mind?

I write to myself until capable of writing for others. Dump everything onto the page and delete the document. Clean out the creative house and take out the trash. Making everything tidy to make room for house guests, those articles that visit with me for a spell, before they go on to their permanent homes.

Tonight I'll skip the deleting. After all, I have but minutes to post for the letter 'C'. This topic fits, so I'll let it hang around awhile. Maybe copy this post into a document and send it to the trash bin, so as not to be cheated of the ceremony.

Seriously though, what gets your mind settled when it's not yet ready to write? How do you handle challenging creative conundrums?

It Can Be a Bummer Being a Brand

Oh, to be a brand like John Updike.

Can I get an Updike Pass?

On my mind lately--Like it or not, our individual personal brands as writers touch every aspect of our work. What we write, topics we cover, audience, marketing, what our (future for me) book  covers look like and the name we use on these are all packaged together. At least that's how some some marketing experts say it is supposed to be.

Branding is something I've thought about and practiced some as a freelance writer, but it is even more important for an author. So I've been refreshing and adding to my knowledge, hunting down the best tips. One common piece of advice I've keep running across is to pick a pen name for each genre or don't brand at all.

That's a bummer. I'm not sure I will always stick to the same genre. In fact, I'm almost certain I won't. I already write articles on a multitude of topics. A large part of my passion for news writing is the daily variety in subject matter. I use the same name for everything and intend to keep doing so. Am I already in danger of being a weak brand?

Achieving Writing Ambitions with Accountability

A lot of us have writing ambitions for where we want our careers to be at specific times in the future. You may even be like me and have those goals broken down into small obtainable steps. The problem is, not all of those goals are introduced into our reality. This is where accountability comes in.

Accountability to others, that is. Telling someone important to you what your writing goals are, and asking them to check on you, puts it all out there. It introduces the need to achieve ambition into our lives in a very real way. There are now stakes attached, an incentive to perform.

"Accountability breeds response-ability." 

                                                           -- Stephen Covey

It somehow feels like you are more 'responsible' to get it done. "I want to" turns into "I have to." So we do it.