Written Creations, LLC

Education is important.  That idea was pounded into my head as a child.  My parents expected both my older brother and me to go to college.  We both expected we’d go.  And we both did; each of us earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree.  When I graduated with my master’s in journalism I figured I was done with my education.  In some ways I was, in other ways I wasn’t.

I realized quickly that learning new things is something I enjoy a lot.  And selecting journalism as a career feeds right into that love.  I get to explore and learn about all sorts of new things.  Sometimes I explore topics I’m interested in to begin with.  Sometimes I explore topics I don’t know anything about.  Whether I knew much about the topic ahead of time, I am still happy to learn new things.

This week, for example, I learned about how to pick out a good mattress.  It’s not earth-shattering information, but I learned things I didn’t know before.  That information will come in handy next time I make a mattress purchase.   A few months ago, I learned how aviation security professionals across the globe use behavior analysis to identify security threats.  Though I have no plans of going to work for TSA, that information at least was intriguing and gives me some insight into common human behaviors and signs to look for that someone has malicious intent.

Even seemingly redundant articles can teach me things.  For a couple of years now I’ve been writing a feature article for the Homes section of my local newspaper.  Real estate companies pay for advertising and get these articles written.  I go in and write up a house a week or every other week that I’m assigned.  I write it as a walk-through.  I have learned what features increase the value of a home.  I’ve learned what constitutes a bedroom in a home (it has to have a closet).  I’ve learned what I will look for in my next home.

I have been finished with school for eight years now, and yet I never stop learning.  I don’t want to ever stop learning.  It’s a perk of my job!

“Balance” is one of those words that modern mothers bandy about.  We talk about balancing work and family.  But, I daresay that few of us really feel we are 100 percent balanced between the two on any given day.

I’ve realized over these last couple of months of working with a little one that one day I feel balanced and the next day I feel out of whack.  It’s a daily struggle.  Working from home leaves me in that gray area in between stay-at-home moms and working-outside-the-home moms.  Mostly that’s a good thing.  On the good days, I realize that I can still do the two jobs I love — the writing one that I’ve been doing for years and the mom one that I just started.  On the bad days, I feel torn between the two.  I struggle to spend enough time not only taking care of my daughter but also enjoying her while still meeting the deadlines.

Everyday I learn more and more about balance.  Right now, for example, I am typing this while a sleepy girl hangs out in my lap.  Yesterday I wrote an article on my laptop while sitting on the floor beside her as she did tummy time.  This morning I did two phone interviews while she took her morning nap.  A few days ago, I let a work call go to voicemail as I fed her.  It’s all about balance.

Will the balance that I find work for every mom who’s trying to live her life while still being a mother?  No.  Will it work for me always?  Of course not.  Right now, I honestly think it’s easier because my daughter is not yet mobile.  She will change.  I will change.  And we’ll make it work together.

We take it one day at a time!

Being a freelancer means I can be mobile.  I have worked a variety of places from hospital waiting rooms to the parking lot of a library in a small Tennessee town.  At home, I would almost always work in my home office.  However, having a baby to look after these days has changed that.  Now I still work in my home office some, but I also do quite a bit of work from my loveseat so I can watch my baby in her bouncy seat napping or on her play mat batting at toys.  At first I struggled to maintain productivity in a more constant nontraditional environment and have learned a few things.

I need a to do list. In my office I have a white board upon which I write tasks and appointments for the day.  I keep track of most of the same information in Outlook.  In my living room, I don’t have that.  I found the easiest way to streamline and keep on track was going old school with a smallish notebook.  I have a page per day.  I write down appointments/meetings and list everything that needs to be done each day for work and home.  This little notebook keeps me on track and organized.  It fits in my purse for when I’m out and about.

I need a way to organize paperwork. In my home office I can often get inundated with paperwork.  It piles up before I realize it.  Working between my office and living room makes it even worse.  I realized I had a paper trail everywhere.  I’m slowly converting to my new solution.  I still use file folders.  Instead of putting them in my office where I have to try and remember to get them and put them back up, I have a tote bag with folders for my current projects.  The bag can go with me back to the office or to the living room or anywhere that I’m working.  I also keep envelopes for check stubs, paid bills and bills to be paid in the same bag.  Ideally I should process all this information as it comes in, but lately that’s been a challenge.  This way I at least have it all together when I do have time to sit down and log it all.

I need to have things within reach. For various tasks that I do throughout the day, I can be tied to one place.  Having everything together helps keep me on track.  I keep the notebook and work bag nearby, of course, but I also make sure other items I need are handy like the telephone with its headset and a bottle of water.

Working in a non-traditional environment has its challenges, but it is most definitely possible with a bit of planning and organization.  I’m sure that I will learn a few more things along the way as well!

Since Valentine’s Day is approaching this weekend, I figured this is a good time to talk about the role a spouse plays in running a successful business.  Do you need a spouse to be successful?  No.  But, everyone needs support.  And those of us who are married really need support from our spouses.  I am blessed to be married to an incredibly supportive man.

When my husband and I met, I was 14 and he was 16.  Our dreams began to grow together.  By the time I was out of high school, he knew my dream was to pursue writing full-time.  We married when I was 20 and only halfway through college.  His support began while I finished first my undergraduate and then graduate degrees in journalism.  He understood when I needed to study rather than go see a movie.  He took care of us working full-time and providing health insurance.  He encouraged me to stick with it when I got tired.  I could have finished college without his emotional support, but it would have been so very difficult.

After graduate school when I felt led to start my own writing business, he was the first in line to support me.  I remember telling him what I wanted to do.  He basically asked why I had taken so long to do this.  He knew my passions.  He even supported my decision to freelance full-time, knowing that I would have sporadic (and menial!) income in the beginning.

In the early years, he encouraged me to keep sending my work out.  He listened to me bemoan the fact that I may never get another paying gig again.  (Writers struggle with self-confidence!)  He was my sounding board for ideas.  He listened when I was bursting with new information I had learned for an article, even when he wasn’t all that interested in the subject matter.  He challenged me to set goals and work to achieve them.

As my career got more established, he would often sit and talk with me to assess where my career was going.  I had a few times where I undertook work that didn’t pan out.  He would gently encourage me to let a client go when it just wasn’t working.

These days, he still does all of those things.  He challenges me to be greater.  He supports me in my work.  He listens when I tell him my latest research that I’m excited about.  He gives me advice, yet isn’t pushy.  He is my biggest cheerleader and greatest fan.

I would say without a doubt that I couldn’t be doing what I’m doing now, living my dream, without the wonderful man to whom I’m married.

Showing a point rather than just telling it is one of the characteristics of good writing — whether it be fiction or nonfiction.  This has come up recently with a client.  It has definitely come up in the past with students.

In journalism having facts to back up statements is what is important.  Those background facts are often what will show a point rather than just telling the writer that something is so.  Here’s an example:

Telling: More women have been diagnosed with interstitial cystitis than men.
Showing: Of the approximately 1 million Americans who have interstitial cystitis, 90 percent of them are female.

While both statements convey the same point, the second one is more effective.  It shows why the point is so.  It’s more specific.  It gives the reader more information.  It’s just better writing.

The same is true in fiction writing as well.  The best books I’ve read are by authors who are good at showing versus telling.  Off the top of my head, the best authors I think of who do this are R.A. Salvatore, J.K. Rowling, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins.  They give us characters and story lines that we are drawn into because they show us what is happening.   Here’s an example:

Telling: Alana was nervous as she waited for her interview.
Showing: Alana had bitten her fingernails nearly to the nub as she sat, tapping her foot, waiting for her interview to begin.

Again, the same point is conveyed by the “showing” sentence paints a clearer picture for the reader.  We not only pick up on the fact that Alana is nervous, but we can better see her being nervous.

Think about the difference between showing and telling next time you pick up a book.  If you become enthralled with it and transported into that fictional world, I can almost guarantee you are reading an author who shows more than he or she tells.

One thing I’ve taught in journalism classes is the concept of community journalism.  It’s that responsibility of journalists to report on topics to better their communities.  Sometimes that community can be much larger than a certain geographic area.

Stories that can help people are just as important as reporting the latest headlines.  The press is still powerful, even with the Internet.  And, like Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben said, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

I was reminded of this recently through another blog — this one from Al Tompkins at Poynter.  His post discussed a conversation he had with the mother of a serviceman who committed suicide after returning from Iraq.  She wanted to compel journalists to write articles about resources available to veterans for mental health assistance.

While journalists don’t like to be told what to write, we are also responsible to our readers.  Good writers and editors focus on what their audiences want and need to read.  I agree that listening to readers’ suggestions are important.  And this topic, in particular, is a big one.

I have written numerous articles about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, specifically in relation to war veterans.  It is a topic that I care about.  It is a topic that is not discussed often enough.  And if the VA is lacking in its response to veterans’ needs, who better than journalists to bring it to light?  Who better than journalists to give desperate veterans information on where they can go for help?

We have a social responsibility.  We must take that seriously and be careful to not sensationalize.  We must remember our true purpose: to serve those who read our work.  Articles written for any other reason are not worth the ink they take to print.

The New York Times’ announcement yesterday that it will start charging for content in 2011 draws strong reactions from many folks.  Some say they’ll never pay for online content.  Others support the decision.  I have to admit that I fall into the latter category mostly because of how the New York Times has set up its payment structure.

The newspaper plans to allow general users access to a certain amount of articles each month and then charge a flat fee for unlimited access thereafter.  Subscribers will have completely free online content.  The New York Times continues to by mum about how many articles will be free.  As long as it’s a reasonable amount, then I agree with their choice.  The new format is designed to still be free for casual users and only charge those who really do read the entire newspaper for free.

Honestly, that makes sense to me.  Newspapers are a business.  Real-life journalists don’t work for free.  I certainly don’t.

Other newspaper, however, are struggling with what to do to make up for revenue lost to their online versions.  My local newspaper, for example, has started running one “enticing” article a day that it only teases on its Web site.  For the entire article, readers must purchase a hard copy of the paper.  Mostly, I find this annoying.  I like the New York Times idea in that it doesn’t make me get up and go somewhere to get the article.  I’d rather see my local newspaper charge a small fee online and have all content available there.

Media outlets continue to navigate the Internet waters and figure out how to use the Internet to boost sales and interest while not running themselves out of business by providing all free content.  As one of the largest newspapers in the country, this decision by the New York Times will most likely have repercussions throughout the country.  Smaller newspapers may mimic the model.  And, I have to say, I think it is one that will work.

Hats off to the New York Times!

When I decided to pursue freelance full-time six years ago, I knew I’d have to deal with my own taxes.  I set up a meeting with an accountant to know what I needed to track.  I must say, the bookkeeping side of having your own business was actually a bit more than I expected.  While I still don’t enjoy the bookkeeping that I have to do, I’ve gotten my system down and don’t mind it so much.

All that said, fourth quarter taxes are due tomorrow (Jan. 15), so I have taxes on the brain even though the rest of the United States doesn’t really start thinking about them this soon.  While writing checks to Uncle Sam isn’t exactly a thrill, I do take solace in the fact that owing taxes means I’m making money.  I try to focus on that.  I know that if I’m having to pay taxes that’s because I am earning an income.  That means people are hiring me to write for them, which is the ultimate goal of having a business!

And when annual tax time rolls around in a couple of months, I will also be thankful that I have an accountant to help me sort through everything.  I give him my records and he takes it from there.  He charges me to do this, of course, but I am glad to pay for his services.  It saves me so much headache.

So as I write out my fourth quarter tax check today and drop it in the mail, I will remain focused on the positive side of tax time!

Working from a home office means not having to worry so much about a business wardrobe.  But, even when spending all day in the office, what you wear makes a difference.

I have always dressed up in nice clothes to go for article interviews, client meetings or teaching classes.  On days I don’t leave the office, though, what I wear doesn’t matter as much.  Clients, interview subjects, editors and students can’t see me over the phone or through e-mail.

I learned early on, though, that I really am what I wear.  On days that I stay in my pajamas until noon, I am a bit more lackadaisical about my work.  On days I get dressed and do my hair and makeup right after breakfast, I seem more productive.  Somehow what I wear makes a difference.  I take my work seriously all the time.  Getting dressed for it, makes it even more serious to me.

And, of course, working from home doesn’t require me to wear shoes.  Another trick I learned has been that on days when my motivation is lacking, I put on a pair of shoes.  When I’m wearing shoes I’m more likely to keep my feet on the floor rather than have one tucked under me.  Sitting more formally and less casually also helps keep me going.

I think the whole thing boils down to how I feel about myself.  While I am comfortable in my PJs, I don’t feel like I’m at my best.  I wouldn’t want people to see me.  Being more presentable makes me feel better about myself and, in turn, makes me have more energy to do the work I need and love to do!

Just in time for Christmas, my computer decided to end its life.  OK, it’s not actually dead just yet, but it’s well on the way.  If it were human, the family would have been called in.  It kept getting slower and slower.  My husband checked it out, being the wonderful IT guy that he is, and found the processor is going bad.  Unfortunately we were unable to buy a new processor.

So, after doing some research online and in person, we found a good deal and purchased a new laptop last week.  I realize during times like these how much I rely on technology.  I know I’ve written about this a time or two before, but I had to again.  The last week I’ve been in transition from one computer to the other.  Right now, my Outlook, which organizes my entire life, is still not moved over to the new computer.  So for e-mail and calendar functions, I pull out the old slow computer.  For just about everything else, I’m using the new one.

The transition should be complete within the next couple of days.  Then I’ll have a whole new issue to face — saying goodbye to the old computer.  Every time I get a new computer, I cry over the old one.  It’s insane, I know.  I just get attached and think of all we’ve been through together.  First it was classes we went through together.  Then it was writing my thesis.  Then it was starting my business.  You get the idea.  I have resolved not to cry this time around, but I do that every time.

I do, perhaps, rely too much on technology, but I’m not sure I have too much choice in this day and age.  I know my business wouldn’t be successful without it.  And so I mourn the loss of an old friend and look forward to getting to know a new one!