So Much More Than A Mom » Freelance Writing

One Year Ago Today

Cyndi — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:01:22 +0000

“Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.” — Madeleine L’Engle

November 2, 2008 was the date I sat down, wrote this post and hit the oft-dreaded publish button for the first time, claiming my own little spot here on the interwebs. I didn’t have much of a clue about why I was doing it or where I was going with it. I now have a pretty firm grasp on why I do it but still not the slightest idea of where it’s going.

I have learned quite a bit over the past year through blogging.

I’ve learned that pretty much no matter what I write about there is at least one person, and usually many more than just one, who reads it and comments or e-mails me to say they’ve been in the same situation or feel the exact same way. I’ve learned that I’m not alone.

I’ve learned that it is possible to develop relationships with people who follow my blog and whose blogs I follow. We have gotten to know each other. Admittedly, we never really know exactly how well we know each other since our primary interactions are through what each of us chooses to expose on our blogs and in our comments. Much can be hidden. The same can be said for people we know in life though. Some of the friends I’ve met through blogging have become facebook friends too, some I communicate with regularly via e-mail, one I have met in person. Some turned out not to be friends at all and/or not who they want people to believe they are. Some lost interest in my blog or I lost interest in theirs. Some stopped blogging and have disappeared. They have all touched me in some way and all taught me something about life or about myself.

I’ve learned a ton about social media. When I started out I had a MySpace account and one e-mail address. Today, I’m on virtually every social networking site there is. I can’t even remember all that I’ve signed up for. MySpace has been completely abandoned. Facebook is private and used primarily for people who I actually know, except my public Facebook Page for this blog. I have an endless number of e-mail addresses. I even know a little about search engine optimization, especially that anyone claiming to be a SEO guru, is in fact, NOT.

I’ve learned that there are multiple cliques within the blogging community. There is always some controversy or other brewing. These always seem to bring out the worst in people, the catty in-fighting hurts us all. This is especially true amongst “mommy-bloggers” which is, unfortunately, the category under which my blog most likely falls. I try to ignore the nonsense. It usually blows over pretty quickly and isn’t nearly as important as anyone involved thought it was.

I’ve learned that blogging is extremely time consuming and much easier to keep up with when not employed than when working full time. I’ve learned that doesn’t bother me and that I somehow find the time because I love it so much.

My most popular blog post by far is Narcissistic Mothers. My least popular post is Are Credit Scores Obsolete. I guess there a lot more people trying to understand their parents and narcissists than there are interested in credit scores or the mortgage industry. Or maybe there are just a lot more professional bloggers out there talking about credit scores and the mortgage industry so my little post didn’t cover any new ground.

That about sums up what I’ve learned this year and I hope to learn even more over the next year. Thank you to everyone who’s reading!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Confessions Of A Grammar Nazi

Cyndi — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:29:48 +0000

“English doesn’t borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over, and goes through their pockets for loose grammar.” — James Nichol

I am a grammar nazi. There. It’s out. Whew!

Of course I do take liberties here on my blog and when communicating verbally. I do use slang. Especially when writing, the reader cannot see facial expressions, cannot hear voice inflections or tones and sometimes taking liberties is helpful in cluing the reader into the author’s personality, mood or intention. But those liberties and uses of slang are intentional.

One of my biggest pet peeves is the unintentional improper use of words. I proofread and edit my blog posts multiple times before hitting that publish button. I still sometimes worry about phrasing and have to come back here to read it again. A published typo is one of my worst nightmares. Seriously.

The other day hubby pointed out a fairly obvious typo on a post that had been up for several days! That had to be corrected immediately. I wasn’t going to be able to sleep with that “out there”. I was horrified that others may have read it, noticed it, and decided against pointing it out to me figuring that I was just an ignorant and uneducated moron.

I was horrified again yesterday when I followed a link posted on twitter by @RoseZag explaining the proper use of the word, “comprised”. I couldn’t believe it. I’ve been using this word incorrectly my entire life! After further research, it turns out I’m not the only one. It’s been misused in the same way I’ve misused it for so long that is has now become an acceptable usage.

This actually bothers me too. Our language and proper usage of words depends on how many people find it acceptable? That means the rules are always changing! How can this be?! I don’t know why this bothers me. This actually goes along with my general free-thinking attitude and dislike of “shoulds”. Maybe it’s the one thing I always thought was constant in life and am just shaken to find that it changes, just like everything else. Proper grammar isn’t constant. Nothing ever is. I’m going to leave that last sentence alone. I can be a grammar rebel too!

I vividly remember my parents explaining that I was not to use the word, “ain’t” and one of the reasons they gave for not using it was that it wasn’t in the dictionary. Guess what? It’s in the dictionary today. Thankfully, it is still not truly acceptable but it’s in there.

A few of my personal nails-on-a-chalkboard-grammar-misdeeds that seem to be used quite frequently are, in order of annoyance…

irregardless- It’s just, “regardless”. Adding the “ir” preface only serves to turn it into a double negative.

valentime – Yes, even intelligent and educated people use this word improperly. I have no idea why this occurs but it makes them sound stupid and frankly…ghetto. It’s valentine, with an “n”!

could care less – It’s, “couldn’t care less”! I never noticed that many people used this phrase until someone pointed it out to me. Ever since then I notice it all the time and it bugs the crap out of me. If your intention is to indicate a complete lack of caring, then saying that you could care less indicates that you actually do care. It makes no sense.

I’m sure there are many more that aren’t immediately coming to mind. Am I the only one who feels this strongly about improper use of grammar? What are some of your grammar pet peeves?

Thanks for stopping by!

I Finally Started Writing

Cyndi — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:28:13 +0000

“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” – Toni Morrison

I’ve talked about writing a book for as long as I can remember. I’ve mentioned it here several times. As a teenager I wanted to write a novel. That never worked out. I don’t know if it’s because I lack the technical skills or just the imagination, but fiction is not for me.

Inspired by two friends, whom I didn’t even know were thinking about writing books, I finally started writing mine. They both told me they had already started theirs. One is pretty close to being finished if I’m not mistaken. Upon hearing about their works already in progress, I was happy for them, but also felt as if I were sitting here procrastinating (again) and letting time pass me by while I’m not doing something I want to do.

I’ve only been working on it for two weeks. I’m on page nine. So far it’s sort of an auto-biography from a psychological point of view, if that makes any sense. It’s basically an elaboration on several of my most personal blog posts, and more….so much more.

While the content is similar to many of my blog posts, writing a book allows for much greater detail than a blog post here and there. I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing, except taking a look at my life and analyzing how and why I ended up here. It’s even more cathartic than writing blog posts and allows me to clearly see things I have not even considered before. I don’t know if anyone else will ever even read it, let alone buy it, but the process itself is well worth the effort. At worst, my kids will have an amateurish account of my life to read someday if they like.

I find myself self-editing as I go along. I have deleted entire pages, moved paragraphs around and even saved some passages to be used in future chapters. This leads me to believe that in the end, it will be a much different book than I initially envisioned. That’s ok. I’m going to let it take me in whatever direction feels right.

Thanks for stopping by!

Freelance Writing

Cyndi — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:18:11 +0000

“Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.” – Natalie Goldberg

This quote pretty much sums up why I started this blog. I know I’ve covered this before here, but when I found this quote, (and I love me a great quote) I had to use it. When I look back over my posts I notice that one day I will do exactly this…write what disturbs me, what I fear, what I have not been willing to speak about, what splits me open. Then the next time I write, I have to pull back. I can’t keep that raw nerve open for too long. I have to write about some nonsense or something lighthearted. It allows me to recover from the dread I inevitably feel about spilling my deepest darkest thoughts and faults.

Having said that, as I’ve also mentioned here before, I love to write. I have been actively pursuing freelance writing jobs. I don’t care if they are short term, long term or whatever. I have some preferences on subject matter but I would also relish an assignment that requires me to research and plan an article about something which I am not currently familiar.

In my pursuit of said writing assignments I came across a site on which folks looking for freelancers post a description of what they are looking for. The freelancers, in turn, bid on the projects that interest them. Sounds great, right?

Not so much.

To my utter amazement and dismay, the vast majority of folks looking for actual articles, manuals, blog posts, etc. are paying between $1.00-$5.00 for 500-750 word articles. Huh?! Is there some sweatshop in some third world country filled with four-year-olds who can write that I’m not aware of? If not, who in their right mind would accept a project that pays so little? What kind of quality are these folks actually getting for their $1.00? I’d love to read one of these articles.

Clearly, this is not the right site for me to find a writing gig. Even if I were to write an article about a subject on which I am already well-versed and that did not require much research on my part, I would never sell it for $1.00 or $5.00 or even $10.00!

I’ll keep on searching for serious assignments and, of course, writing here. I may not be getting paid for this, but I have complete freedom to be split open, without also having to accept pennies from someone else for doing so.

Thanks for stopping by!

So Much More Than A Mom » Freelance Writing

One Year Ago Today

“Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.” — Madeleine L’Engle

Related Reading:

Related posts

Confessions Of A Grammar Nazi

“English doesn’t borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over, and goes through their pockets for loose grammar.” — James Nichol

Related Reading:

Related posts

I Finally Started Writing

“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” – Toni Morrison

Related Reading:

Related posts

Freelance Writing

“Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.” – Natalie Goldberg

Related Reading:

Related posts