Tag: #WritingCareer

  • Difference Between Midlife Crisis and A New Career?

    I had drinks with a friend last night at a local bar, and I am still amazed/anxious about going to bars, but was happy to do it. The friend and I are close to the same age, have weathered the pandemic with our families, and now that we are on the other side, we are both looking to do things differently with our careers.

    He told me about his endeavors and opportunities that he is hoping break his way. He also informed me that his old career came knocking, and he has been hesitant to jump back in. Going back for him would be lucrative, but it would also mean doing the same old thing and expecting a different result. Fair enough.

    He asked me about what I was doing, and I pretty much gave him the same answer. I think I was a little more blunt by saying, “No more working for or with assholes.” (Which reminds me of a rule/guideline when it comes to interviewing people for a position; If a potential employee tells you that all the people at their last job were assholes, usually that means the potential employee was the problem. So, maybe I was the asshole?) Really, what I meant was no more toxic work environments.

    And as I walked home, a thought came into my head; Isn’t this just a midlife crisis? We are both forty, life hasn’t work out as planned, so we are trying a new career in an effort to get things moving again. The only thing we are missing is a divorce, a sports car, and dating a twenty-year old.

  • The New Blog’s Anniversary

    So, one year ago, while still in the middle of the pandemic, having been laid off from my job, and just barely holding on to any semblance of a normal life, I decided that I would start up my old WordPress blog again, and commit to writing a post five times a week for the next year. And just see what would happen.

    And here I am a year later. The facts are that I went from, if I was lucky, one person reading a post to now having four people reading a post. Previously, I had 60 followers after three years of off and on blogging, to now having 221 followers. I have had seven comments shared over this year, and a bunch of likes. And I also know in the world of online traffic, that this isn’t a blip on anyone’s radar. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate more than anything that I am not yelling into a void. That people take the time to stop by, like something, does make me feel good, and not so alone.

    When I picked up blogging again, I did want to better myself as a writer, even though I wasn’t exactly sure the type of writer I wanted to be. And honestly, I’m still not sure. But I did know that if I wanted to get better at anything, I had to practice. I had to put in the time, and start doing the work. That meant committing to something, and doing it on days that I didn’t want to do it. And reading over things that I wrote, and admitting that it sucked and I could do better. And slowly, I started to enjoy the work, and look forward to the work.

    So, to the four of you that will see this today, thanks again for stopping by. I have, hopefully, another year of work ahead of me. Let’s see what happens.

  • Looking for Writing Work

    I am down to the final three months before the kid is back in school, and I need to have a job. I will be honest, working from home would be ideal, but when push comes to shove, and if it’s a good job, then I will be willing to go where I am needed.

    The other thing is that I have been at the blog for 11 months now, and I do value the 4 of you, on average, who come by to check it out. It is a huge improvement over my daily average of .5 people when I started on July 20th. The goal was to write about what I was interested in, and try to craft it in a short, concise way, 250 words per post, that was entertaining, but also made a point. The fact that the blog grew, from 60 subscribers to 215 in less than a year, might not be earth shattering, but at least showed there was interest.

    The other goal was to work on the skills that would enable me to go forth and find employment as a writer. That one is all on me. I think my first desire was to be able to purchase a new computer from the earnings of writing, which is still an admirable objective. I would like to add if I could bring in about $500 a month, I would be over the moon happy.

    So, I stand at this crossroads. If I am serious that this is what I want to do, then I need to start putting in the work to make it happen, at least, more than I am doing right now.

    But, the lingering thought in the back of my head is, I have no idea how to get started… Who do I talk to? Do I need a resume? Writing samples? An introduction? What is the first step? I am here, but I want to get there… Just, how?