Enraging, Endearing Editors--Throwback Thursday

Hopefully, editors won't become as rare as the red pen.

I Miss Them

After discovering my love for journalism in middle school, I was devastated to learn that my high school paper would be off limits until I was a junior. Come junior year, I was amped to get my first by-line in newsprint. By the end of the semester, I had discovered the age-old love/hate relationship between writers and editors.

I learned two hard lessons in one issue, the second as demoralizing, if not as dramatic, as the first. (I cut out the first instance, it was way to long to combine both.) I was writing about the pumpkin patch in a near-by town. I wrote three drafts of that story, before it was approved. That wasn't the problem, though. Those editing lessons were much appreciated.

The work put into the story did make it the one I was most eager to see when the paper finally came out. Grabbing a few copies and rushing home, I tore through the pages to find it. And burst into tears. The version that went to press was the first draft. I was enraged. After all those

Freelancing Means Fun Things Aren't Forsaken

The backdoor in my office leads right to this. Tempting!

It means indulging in quirky fun during the workday

Freelance writing from home has numerous perks besides never missing work to wait on the cable/internet/phone/UPS guy. One of the greatest benefits for me personally is being able to find frequent stopping points in my work day to enjoy a bit of fun. Here are some of the shenanigans I've gotten up to during a normal work day:

• Impromptu shopping binges. 
• Eating lunch at home with my guy. Better yet, going for ice cream!
• Chasing toads/hummingbirds/butterflies in the yard.
• Going for mud puddle stomping walks with the nephews.
• Jumping in the swimming pool midday. (So very, very cold!)
• Playing keep away with the dogs.
• Finding animals to beg for on Craigslist. (0 for 3 this month: a monkey, baby goats and  a puppy.)
• Caking on the makeup--topped off with three coats of mascara and crimson lips--and it's photo time!
• Said makeup, crank the music and dance around like a rock star.
• Buy tickets to go on vacation the next day. Hey, this office is mobile.

Sure, the mundane stuff happens too. Laundry, cooking and dish washing--even cleaning the toilet--happens between articles. Have to do something while I'm up stretching. At least those chores aren't left for my after-work free time.

Oh, and tomorrow I get to skip out for a couple hours in the morning to go to a nephew's awards assembly. How many jobs would have let me have time off for that?

Photo credit: Tamara McRill 

Going with My Gut Garners a Featured Article

Circled in red: My 'DWTS' article featured on AC News.

Chalking Up a Win for Instincts & 'Silly' Ideas

Not every topic I write about is steeped in seriousness. Sometimes the subjects would be considered fluff or just ridiculous. I feel confident many people would consider the article I wrote in the wee hours of the morning, "'DWTS' Winner Not a Blonde Celebrity; No Surprise," to fall into the 'frivolous' category. But, hey, I have to share the incongruous information in my head, especially when it eventually connects to form an interesting pattern.

Watching the "Dancing with the Stars" finale last night, I looked at my guy and announced, "Hines is so going to win, Kirstie and Chelsea are blondes." Which reminded me that I had an idea last season to write about how blond celebs rarely made it to the final three, let alone

Healthy Writing Space Habits = Less Hours + More $

Ergonomics for computer users.

Economics of Ergonomics and Eye Care

I'm writing this post in my living room, by the glow of the laptop screen and slight illumination from the kitchen light. Cross-legged and hunched over...now stretched out with the love seat arm pressing into my neck...and I've just jabbed a toothpick into my eye.

Okay, not just, more like twenty minutes ago. Needed recovery time. Proving--albeit extremely painfully--my point. Which is this: If your writing space isn't set up properly it can hurt you and how much money you are making.

If you can't see what you are doing, squinting or hunting around for things, that wastes time. If you are constantly squirming around, trying to get comfortable, there goes more time. Have to

Interesting New Interview How-To Blog

I'm a big proponent of online writers adding quality sources to their articles and have mentioned several times that interviewing experts is one of the best ways to do so. Wouldn't you know I'm not the only writer who thinks so? Yahoo! News contributor Brad Sylvester has created a brand new blog devoted to the process of interviewing experts.

Discover the realities of interviewing experts.

'Interviews with Experts' isn't just a straight 'how to interview' lecture. What makes it interesting is that the blog is a mix of advice in addition to Sylvester taking specific issues he encounters during the interview process and discussing how he dealt with each one. More importantly, he

Jamming Out and Jotting Down Article Ideas

My trusty article idea notebook.

To the left, to the left
...side of the brain

I can't rock out and write, but that doesn't mean tunes aren't totally part of my creative process. Courtesy of YouTube, today I danced around while 80's hair bands emoted on love, with a little Beyoncé and Carrie Underwood backbone for some confident hip shakin' attitude. With a clear mind and buoyant spirit, I stopped every now and then, jotting down article ideas in my mini Yahoo! notebook.

Queuing up a Bon Jovi ballad playlist, with the likes of Skid Row ("I Remember You"), the Black Crowes ("She Talks to Angels") and multiple replays of "Irreplaceable"  thrown in for good measure, I shook it while doing laundry and cooking supper. By the time I finished up with "Before He Cheats" I had a nice list of evergreen article ideas and talking points to toy with. Oddly enough, mostly centering around children and business. I would of thought I would have been channeling relationship ideas with those songs, but not so much.

For me, brainstorming article ideas to music has to be done to songs I know so well I can keep belting out the lyrics even if YouTube is buffering in silence. It's a process that requires no

Lazily Lapsing on Leaving Little Love Letters

Has he noticed? Part of me hopes so.

There was a time when a hand-drawn sweetly versed card was tucked ever so secretively into the fridge, nestled next to his favorite drink or treat. The coffee table was often graced with lovingly penned short tributes to how he made me smile.

Now the fridge is home to only to foodstuffs. Prepared with affection, for sure, but not quite the same delightful surprise. The coffee table, well, it is gone, but there are plenty of  lonely surfaces that would welcome such warm company.

It's not like my lack of writing little love letters is something I just discovered. We impetuously decided to spend Valentine's Day in New Orleans. A love gift to ourselves--we agreed the only present to be exchanged--to get away as a couple. I had the thought that it wouldn't be breaking the rules to mail home a postcard. To briefly capture the moment and tell him how wonderful the adventure was. How wonderful he is.

I didn't do it. I had a stamp in my wallet, but I didn't do it.