Why Me?

Magnificient article in the New York Times by Alice Lesch Kelly titled The struggle to move beyond 'Why Me?'

"Not long after my treatment ended, I found myself in a hospital elevator with a bald woman. I had no hair at that time, either, so we started to chat. (It’s amazing how cancer brings people together — I’ve had deep, 45-minute conversations with complete strangers in waiting rooms.).....Only when I accept the sometimes cruel randomness of fate will I be able to call myself a survivor."

It's not really an article. It's an outpouring of the writers' heart and mind. This piece brings together a lot of the parts which put together make for great writing. For starters, there's the fact that the illness strips away all the artificial layers of personality and leaves no gap between the writer and the writing. What you see is the writer, as is. Second is the issue of the need to find solutions. Some people relish challenges. Facing down problems is like nicotine, dangerously addictive. When you bump into a problem which refuses a solution, you fall back from science onto faith. You close your eyes and let a higher authority decide what's best for you - If only becuase there's nothing much else you can do about it. Which is the stage Alice Lesch Kelly finds herself in.

I have nothing to say to Alice about her cancer. I have nothing to say to Alice about how to face the issues arising out her health problems. All I have to say is, write. Write some more - A lot more. And enjoy it. Because this is the best you can do, Alice. And your best is darn good.

Alice Lesch Kelly is a freelance health writer based in Newton, Mass. and she is the author of masterpieces such as 'How chocolate helps your heart' and 'Tick-Proof Your Yard'

The Art of Freelancing

Article in Statecollege.com by, um..someone discusses 'the art of freelancing' questioning the worth of your words.

"The great irony is book writing. People I know who refuse to write for less than $2 a word will spend hours each week writing a novel or researching a non-fiction book....Article writing makes money. Book writing is for fun. At least for me."

Two questions - Would you write for $1.99 a word? And have you read this article?

In other news, Web Worker Daily asks whether telecommuters are more vulnerable? "Is navigating change more difficult for the far-flung versus traditional on-site workers? What changes has your web work arrangement weathered, and how would you say your career has flourished (or not) since that disruptive element was introduced?"

For a site which caters to telecommuters, these guys seem to be overly insecure. Besides, it would be a mistake to lump all telecommuters into the same bracket. There are indispensable freelancers and then there are guys doing ( or trying to do ) the exact same job, and their contracts get flushed faster than toilet paper.

Sparky

LuWanda Banks, freelance writer and guardian of the creative spark, writing for Massachusetts Live has advice for writers' groups.

"Fourth, if you wrote what you felt was a humorous piece, and no one chuckles, it wasn't funny. If you wrote what you felt was a sad piece, and people laughed, you need to rewrite it. If you wrote what you felt was clear and concise, and there are lots of questions about what you meant, then you learn that it isn't clear at all."

Um...Right. Moving on....

Writers are often, and rightly, advised to avoid wasting ink and write large and rambling essays. Well, guess writers should learn from A minor history of miniature writing. And, as a sidenote, if you can read this, you need to have your eyes checked.

And here's an interview in the Louisville, Kentucy Courier-Journal with writer Anna Quindlen ( Her accomplishments are listed here - Anna Quindlen - Uber WAHM ). She saves the best for the last.

"You wrote the book "How Reading Changed My Life." What do people really gain from reading?

When you read … you're able to transcend your world and understand better what it's like to be (someone else) in America. And that's just invaluable because our country has become so fragmented by race and class and ethnicity.

And on a purely personal level, given how isolated so many of us are, reading makes you feel less alone. … I can imagine my life without writing. I cannot imagine my life without reading."

She's right. Guard that spark.

Mom and a Hack Writer

Mother's day is here and writers are scraping the barrel to find just one more piece of nostalgia, full of apple pie. Vivian Pettyjohn, writing for ePluribus media, chimes in with her mother, a hack writer. And it's one heck of an article.

"When she was exactly the age I am now, she looked back over her years as a writer and decided that there was nothing of lasting or redeeming value in anything that she had done. She felt that she had started out to make a living doing what she loved to do, got stuck on a hamster wheel of production and ended up a hack."

All I have to say to Vivian is, I wish I was 1/4th the hack her mother was. Which means that I wish I was 1/2 the writer you are. Happy Mother's Day.

And just to prove my point, here's one more story on spiritual motherhood.

And finally, Arthur Levine, writing for The Conservative Voice, tries to explain why you should buy articles from him. Unfortunately, Arthur, someone screwed up. Either you or your editor. And half the article about why you should buy articles from a good writer is printed twice, on the same page. I'd say that if this is your way of advertising your services, you shouldn't have quit that day job.

Keep tuned.