Writers are writers

I realized today that I am a writer. Not that I didn't know this before, but this was one of those days where I tried to take time for myself and enjoy the fact that I am alive. Well that really didn't work. Instead of enjoying all the Jimmy Stewart movies on TCM, I raced back and forth from the living room to the office all day to see if I missed something on Twitter. Of course I didn't – at least nothing that could not wait until the end of Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.

Anyway, this all brought me to the conclusion that I am a writer. I cannot go a single day, let alone eight hours, without writing a single word. This is good when it comes to work because I obviously need the money. And it's true that most money isn't easy money – people just won't click on your ads everyday, and you shouldn't expect them to. But I'm getting off topic.

Knowing that I can't avoid writing also helps to sooth me. I worry that one day I'll just forget I like to write fiction and poetry because other writing is more important. And even though I got two more rejection letters for poetry today (I believe these should be the last ones for this cycle...) I am confident I'll continue. Now I have to get a new batch of work ready to be submitted. That's always a pain, but worth it if someone bothers to publish my work.

Ooh, and just to brag about myself (which I honestly don't like doing) I did receive a better rating on one of my jobs recently, opening up a lot more work for me. That's really going to help pay off all those ugly credit cards with their brand-spankin' new interest rates.

Nearly mid-week updates

For me, it feels like the middle of the week already. I'm ahead of schedule, which means I'll definitely be able to take off work most of the day tomorrow. It's silly but TCM is running a Jimmy Stewart marathon to celebrate his birthday. While I have seen all the movies being shown, I would like to catch Vertigo and Bell, Book, and Candle again. So really I only have to sacrifice 4 hours... and during that time I can multitask by editing the last two chapters of 277 Miles. It got lost in the shuffle of packing away office junk two weeks ago, and I just recovered it from the depths of the closet. Don't know how it ended up in there, but stranger things have happened...

Other work is going great. Either I'm getting better or people are tired of having me fix things, because I haven't had a major editing disaster in almost two weeks. Yay! But I'm also working at a slower pace. Maybe that was all I needed. Once I get used to a format, I tend to speed up, but maybe I get a little sloppy sometimes. Wouldn't be the first time someone told me that. I'm just finally able to recognize it in myself. So now the schedule is finally working for me.

But now comes the real work. For the next two months, I have to write, pack, clean, and keep my sanity at the same time. I might have to call in reinforcements in a couple of weeks to really pack it all in and live on only the essentials. I did it last summer, and it made me realize just how materialistic I am. I didn't need anything that was packed in a box, so why keep it? I should have gotten rid of it when I had the chance, but at least I have not collected many more possessions since that time. I think this whole year I've bought 2 DVDs and an iPod dock. That's it.

Well, it's back to work for me now. I really want to get everything out of the way so I can finally start something new. Short stories... here I come!

Latest Movie Review

To relax last night, I wrote a new movie review. I saw it yesterday on TCM for the third or forth time, and I thought I would share my opinion.

Strategic Air Command

Those that love patriotic movies, Jimmy Stewart, and a big slice of Americana will love Strategic Air Command released by Paramount Pictures in 1955.

Strategic Air Command is a flag-waver of a movie. Not only does it contain appreciation for those that served in American wars (particularly World War II), it also stresses the importance of serving your country in peace time.

...Continue reading my review

Working Saturday

Today has been a working day. I'm trying very hard to get all my commitments out of the way today so I can finally have a whole day to myself tomorrow. I don't really have any specific plans, but the weatherman says rain for Sunday. That means it would be a perfect movie day, and I'm interested in a few listings on TCM tomorrow.

Even though I want to get everything done, I've been slowing down a lot lately. Things that I thought would never be a problem are suddenly creeping up into editing issues. I've said it once and I'll say it again: if it's not approached in the right way, I take editing critiques as personal insults. And I have so many different editors per day that it's really hard when I'm constantly getting feedback that has a person upset when I spelled one or two words wrong. I'm sorry, but if you only pay me a half a cent per word, you probably won't get more than five minutes of editing, otherwise the price isn't worth it. Although, unless it's a direct rewrite, the price still isn't worth it when you include research time.

It frustrates me particularly on one of my jobs. This job gives you a 1-5 ranking for each article you write. I have almost all articles ranking in at 3. Why? I couldn't tell you, exactly. Some were spelling mistakes but others I get no other feedback on. Even if the buyer rates it as excellent, I still only earn a 3 which means lower payments. I know I see it as a waste of time to put a lot of effort into these articles because I cannot earn more than $5 per article. But even when I put a lot of effort into it, I'm still ranked low. So why should I continue to waste time? That job in particular frustrates me because the buyer does not usually provide instructions that are detailed enough. I need a little structure in order to get it right, you know? But of course that doesn't prove true with some of my other work. When they put me into a structure, I follow it and it's still not good enough!

I'm thinking that my teachers and professors coddled me in school, because I don't think I can really make it as a writer. I thought I had something to work with, but all this feedback is telling me otherwise. I guess I can just concede and ignore it, since I still make money. But I don't want whatever skills I do have to slip away because I'm not being challenged. I'm battling with myself, but I have no other choice. I can't go back out into the world. I've spent too long away from it.

What do you think? Am I being stupid? Should I just work for half a cent per word and shut up because at least it's a job?

She's no Ginger

I actually spent Sunday away from work. Not necessarily away from the computer, but I did manage to not write anything for about 24 hours. I actually went shopping and had a good time. I bought an awesome Lego set for my nephew. Okay... I'll admit it was more for me than him, but he'll get to play with it next time he comes over to my apartment.



I also watched TCM last night for a Fred Astaire/Rita Hayworth double feature. And like my subject head says... she's no Ginger. The lead in and exit from the movie always provides a little background on the movie or actors, and I was surprised to hear that Fred Astaire thought Rita Hayworth was one of his best dancing partners. I just didn't find their dancing chemistry appealing to me. Then again, I definitely love Ginger Rogers more than Fred Astaire any day. It's not that Rita and Fred didn't have chemistry, I just found Rita's dancing a little... I don't know. Is stilted the right word? Maybe reserved? I'm no dance expert. I just know that the dancing scenes in You'll Never Get Rich and You Were Never Lovelier did not impress me. But the rest of the movies were great: good plot, funny humor, etc.

Watch the trailers, if you're interested:





But for now, it's back to work (happily, I might add).

Progression

I worked hard this morning and am very proud of myself. I easily knocked out 6 articles in just a few hours. Unfortunately, it's Monday and I can't do much more than that. House, Heroes, and a Jimmy Stewart movie called On our Merry Way are all on tonight. Plus, if I really want to get no sleep, I can catch Harold and Maude at 11:45 on TCM tonight. I'm still debating. Either way, I have to work twice as hard tomorrow. My goal is to clear out my article queue. That would mean writing more than 20 articles. I gotta get it done anyway, so why not all in one day? I think I'll get the coffee ready for the morning.

Friday Update

So I disappointed myself and did not meet my monthly article goal. But that will not happen this month. I plan to produce 200 articles in March no matter what, because I need the money if I want to pay off debt and move again.

If you're a regular viewer of my blog, you may have noticed some new ads in my right hand column. These are some great websites you should check out. Dolphin Bubbles is a great site where you can check out the dolphins that live at Discovery Cove. Another link offers a chance to win a trip to Sea World, which is just about the coolest place in the world. And the newest link is to a company that offers an awesome deal on full color, customized classified ads that produce great results. So if you have something to sell, that would be an ideal way to do it.

Well, it's lunch and back to work. 4 down, 6 more to go for today. Then I can relax and watch Mr. Smith Goes to Washington on TCM tonight.

It's Looking UP

I'm on the back end of my terrible cold (I can breathe out of my nose again!). Now I get to play catch up once more: 102 articles in 9 days. That about 51 hours of work... more if I want to not only catch up, but finally get ahead. I can do it. I just won't sleep Saturday or Sunday night. Cappuccino is stocked (so is my reserve of Mountain Dew) so there should be no problems. I would pull an all-nighter tonight, but I'm afraid that I'll have a setback with my cold if I do.

But I still have to get at least 8 more done today, which shouldn't be a problem. I have 7-10pm and 11-whenever to get it done tonight. I would do them earlier (like, um, NOW) but I have to clean, read (I'm really missing my books!), and watch Anatomy of A Murder at 3. Once again, I will express my undying love for TCM.

Now I'm off to get it all done... and I hope my new neighbor won't bother me:

TCM

I cannot tell you just how much I love my TCM channel. Now I get to watch some of the greatest movies without having to buy them or wish I could buy them. Today was a Henry Fonda marathon, so I caught Stage Struck and Yours, Mine, and Ours. The latter I've seen a dozen times on television when I was little, but this was the first time for Stage Struck and I loved it. But of course this title isn't available on DVD, so I am a little upset about that. But at least I have TCM, which actually plays classic movies like it advertises, instead of tricking you like TVLand or AMC.