This week in words: I hardly want to reflect on it; I just want the next week to be better. And it wasn’t even that bad; I just whine a lot. My update for Monday Morning Gossip.
1. Moooonneeeyyy
To be precise: lack of it. This is the tightest week S and I have ever faced (that I can remember, though maybe my memory is clouded at the moment..), and we’re butting up against maybe, actually, being totally broke in a couple of days.
It all depends on the mail, which we’ve been checking with enough obsession for a week that I’m sure our neighbors are totally freaked out. S is waiting on a big check – like, two months’ pay – from a recent gig that we expected early in the week. It still hasn’t shown.
When you live paycheck-to-paycheck, it’s quite imperative that paychecks come on time! And ours so rarely do, some cruel combination of clients who don’t give a fuck and a broken mail delivery system that somehow loses at least 15 percent of our checks but delivers 150 percent of the offers Charter sends my way.
Thus, we find ourselves stranded in a small town without enough gas to get out, just one trip to the grocery store away from absolute zero in the checking account. Still watching the mailbox.
2. Naps
Cabin fever + no money + helplessness = S and I have been at each other’s throats all week. Bad mood Betties to the max.
We can only occupy ourselves with email and screen-facing work so long before we’re going crazy. And, you’ll quickly realize when you run out of money, there’s almost nothing you can do for fun as an adult without spending money.
Walking is my favorite broke-day pasttime, but S hates taking walks in town, and I hate taking walks alone without a destination – and destinations usually cost money.
So we remain in the house, smothered by our own bad attitudes. S escapes it by sleeping more than a thirty-year-old man should need to, and I attempt to escape through writing. But my weighty bad mood usually breaks in and convinces me whatever I’m working on is futile, and I take a lot of Facebook breaks.
3. Lucky Louie
The other nice distraction in broke times is T.V. We don’t actually have T.V., because that would cost a boat-load of money every month, but we find what we can online.
Louis C.K.’s Louie premiered for Season 4 recently, which prompted S and I to seek out Louis’ former HBO series Lucky Louie – a network-style three-camera sitcom (that covers topics and uses language a network would never allow). It’s fantastic, and now that I’ve seen it, I’m devastated it lasted only one season. Pamela Adlon (of King of the Hill and Californication fame) co-stars, and she’s just the best.
4. Barista
The bit of good news of the week is that I got a job! It’s exciting and a little disheartening, but I was hired back at the bookstore coffee shop I worked once upon a time – pre-writing, pre-college, pre-marriage, and pre-any kind of dreams.
Now I’m back. I start Tuesday.
It’s nice to know I left my bridges intact, so I have this to fall back on while I get my life together – but it’s hard to admit that I have to make money serving coffee because I wasn’t cut out to be a writer.
5. Huffington Post
Oh, in other good news this week, I was invited to be a HuffPo blogger! That’s exciting. But can I be honest…?
I’m happy for the opportunity and glad to have a new platform to spread my words on – but the offer would have been way more crazy-exciting, dream-come-true status, like, two years ago. I’m too jaded as a blogger to be super-stoked about HuffPo now.
Yeah, they got some stink on them a while back for not paying writers – but I don’t really care about that. (Though, a paid offer every now and then would be welcome…)
What chips away at the mega-blog’s shine for me is I understand too well about how it all works. I’ve written for news aggregates – which HuffPo is – and I’ve written original content for huge blogs – which HuffPo also is. Covering popular news would get my posts more views, but require little writing talent. And writing original posts is no guarantee my writing will be seen, despite the site’s enormous audience; they just post too many things a day, and only a few can stick.
Really, joining the ranks of HuffPo bloggers means just another path in the rat race to get my work noticed online. Except on this platform, when I get ahead of the pack, it can have a huge impact – so how can I not at least try? I submitted my first post Friday; I’ll share (even though it’s under my real name) when it’s up :)
6. Getting Gutsy and Online Community
I love this post from Jessica Lawlor about how her blog community named her blog for her, organically.
As Jessica calls it, her story is a blogger’s “dream come true” – her voice and message of “Getting Gutsy” resonated so well with her readers that they naturally started to define her brand without her guidance. That’s SO much cooler than the lonely hours we usually spend behind the scenes trying to scheme up the best URL’s, words, and phrases to stand out online – efforts that usually prove fruitless, anyway.
One benefit to being broke is the push to get creative with food. Here’s my buffalo ranch French toast – accidental inspiration for my novel!
7. Tools for Writing Books
With my newfound freedom from worry about growing my business or finding new clients, I’ve been able to devote head space to the seven million book ideas I want to work on – and I’ve found some cool resources to help me make progress:
a. Non-fiction: I’m re-vamping my original bestselling ebook to release a 2d edition early next year. Because I already have a coherent structure and outline for the book, this is a perfect opportunity to finally try Nina Amir’s “How to Blog a Book” method.
b. Novel(s): For my chick lit series, I’ve sought out guidance for basic novel structure and found this great free chart on structuring your novel from K.M. Weiland.
c. Memoir: To draft my latest memoir (a longer-term WIP), I’m mostly writing free-form, but once I get through the first draft (or maybe when I get stuck writing it), I’m going to turn to two resources for writing memoir that have come my way lately: How to Write a Memoir in 30 Days by Roberta Temes, and Nan Phifer’s Memoirs of the Soul.
Both books were offered to me as review copies from the author; I still have to read and review both, but I’m looking forward to exploring the different approaches to writing memoir – and, of course, I’ll share my reviews ASAP!
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