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I’m back from my vacation feeling more worn out than when I left. I’ve come to the conclusion that travel exhaustion is just different from work exhaustion. And it’s good to get vacation tired occasionally as a break from work-related tired. Does this make sense or am I losing it?

When I left for San Antonio last week, I was seeking relief from the mental stress of my day-to-day work and life-sustaining activities—you know, eating healthy, walking daily, keeping up with obligations, enjoying friends/family, etc. Now, I am eager to return to the life I’ve carved out for myself and leave the stress of travel behind. It is refreshing to leave the house in the morning and know where you are going—no more maps to figure out, no discussions about the days plans, no more decisions about where to eat, no concerns about what to wear and what to carry for a day of sightseeing in a strange place.

All I can say is that I had a great time doing the San Antonio river walk, and I am ready to dive back into my work—well, after a little adjustment to the time difference and the pace.

So did I come back renewed and with some new perspectives and information that I can use in my work—in my life? Certainly. Not sure what, yet. But you will be among the first to receive any tidbits of wisdom or perceptions I brought home as I often share such things in this blog.

One thing I know is that everyone else in the world carries on with their lives even when you are on holiday. So while you are traveling or sightseeing, there are hundreds of people doing their jobs and you have the opportunity to connect with many more skilled, service, helping, etc. people that you might not otherwise meet. And, whether you know it at the time or not, many of them make some sort of impression on you. And some of them can actually help you with your writing—either through what they taught you or shared with you or how they affected you or touched you. The experiences we have, no matter where we are or what we’re doing, have an impact on us as people as well as writers. Sometimes this is obvious to us and other times we may not even know (or remember) that it was the waiter in the hotel dining room or the tour boat guide or the gardener at the zoo who gave us something of value we can use in our lives or in our writing.

My message today—as weary as I am on my first day at home—is go after the experience. Open up to people and situations and relish the jewels that may result.

In the meantime, I know that some of you are still struggling within the publishing or writing realm You are trying to write a book or you are ready to publish and do not know where to start. Please stop—step back and educate yourself before diving into this highly competitive field. You will be so glad you did.

You’ve already started the process by reading this blog—be sure to spend some time in my archives. Oh my, you will find some amazing information and resources. Then order and read my book, Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. It should be your first responder and your most trusted guide through the tangled publishing maze. Order it at Amazon.com in print or Kindle or at most any online or downtown bookstore. You can also order it at my website: http://www.matilijapress.com

Contact me personally: PLFry620@yahoo.com

I hope that those of you with a desire to write for a living or to supplement your income, studied the three tips I offered a couple of days ago. They may seem simplistic, but if you want to be a writer and it is not happening for you, perhaps you need to pay serious attention to those three tips. And here are three more:

4: Use your time wisely. Becoming a successful freelance writer takes discipline and realistic scheduling. Failure comes to those who procrastinate, who have trouble prioritizing tasks and who are easily distracted. Those who succeed in this business have found a way to organize their lives and discipline themselves.

5: Just start. It isn’t easy to transition from full-time office worker to full-time writer. Most of us don’t have the funds to support us while we build a new business. I didn’t always have 12 or even 8 hours each day to spend working my freelance writing business. I built it over time. For any of you who are interested, here is my story:

I started writing articles for magazines from a corner of my bedroom using a manual typewriter in 1973. Thirteen years later, however, it became necessary for me to take a full-time job. I’d just spent 5 years researching and writing a comprehensive local history book and self-publishing it. So funds were low and my lifestyle was in transition.

How I missed writing. While I had a good job with lovely people around me, I hated working for someone else—on someone else’s agenda. And it looked as if this would be my future. I became despondent. That’s when I realized that I had to find a way to write no matter what else was going on in my life.

I started getting up at 4 every morning and writing before I went to work. Then I would write on weekends. I completed an entire book in 8 months on that schedule. I can’t even begin to describe how happy and fulfilled I felt. But I wanted more. I wanted to come home and establish a writing business that supported me spiritually as well as financially. So I began using that time in the wee hours of the morning to submit articles to magazines—remember, this was before the ease of the Internet. Within a year, I was able to quit my job and come home to write. And I’ve never looked back.

6: Write what they want. You have to go where the paying work is and accept the jobs that are available. While I never compromised my values in order to get paying work, I have certainly had to take some challenging and sometimes not very interesting jobs in order to keep the flow of money coming my way.

I’ve seen too many writers so bent on making their own personal statement or doing things their way that they get nowhere in this business. If you want to make a living or even earn some part-time money as a writer, you have to go where the work is and write what is needed/wanted. Write about things that are current, popular or even a bit provocative or controversial.

It takes more to become a full-time writer than just dreaming about it. If writing full-time is your dream, read and reread the six points I’ve offered and use them to finally fulfill your passion.

Read my book, A Writer’s Guide to Magazine Articles. Available here for $6.50
http://www.matilijapress.com

PLFry620@yahoo.com
http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com

Would you like to establish a career as a freelance writer? Do you dream of writing full-time? Follow the suggestions below and your dream could become a reality. Here are three tips to help you break through the barriers that are keeping you from pursuing your dream. (I’ll post 3 additional tips within the next few days.)

1: Spend time writing whether it is convenient to do so or not. Your routine is important to you. In fact, it probably represents your comfort zone. To step outside of this zone, even to pursue something you want to do, often causes some discomfort. You have choices. You can give up your dream of writing or try easing into the writing realm. How? Make writing a priority and you will find the time.

2: Make time to write. Usually this means making some sacrifices. What are you willing to give up in order to write? Sleep, TV, Internet surfing or perhaps overtime at work?
Get up an hour earlier or stay up an hour later and spend this time writing. Turn off the TV more often. What may feel like a sacrifice at first, will become part of your new writing routine. If writing is your passion, you will soon feel blessed to have the time to write rather than feeling deprived of time in front of the TV.

3: Be realistic about your writing choices. Perhaps your true dream is to support yourself by writing stories for your favorite romance magazines. Or maybe you’d like to become a novelist. It is extremely difficult to break in as a career writer of fiction. If fiction is your writing bag, I strongly urge you to set that dream aside for now and pursue a mode of writing that is more likely to produce the monetary results you are seeking.

Here’s what I recommend: start writing articles for magazines, seek freelance writing work in corporate offices or on the Internet or produce some how-to booklets on topics related to your expertise, for example.

PLFry620@yahoo.com
http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com

Can you visualize your characters? Not everyone has the ability to picture things in their minds. But this is a good skill for a novelist to develop. Why? You’re more apt to develop a realistic character. And your characters will be more likely to remain in characters throughout your story.

I’ve edited novels wherein two or more characters used the same terminology—often starting their sentences with “Well…” or using a pet phrase such as, “My point is…” (which you hear often on the TV show, 2 and a Half Men). As authors, we have to be careful not to bring too much of ourselves into our stories—at least when we’re fleshing out several characters. In other words, make sure each character is as different as you are from your sister, neighbor, friends, coworkers and former classmates, for example.

It helps some authors to create character boards or cards. List the traits, description, idiosyncrasies, habits, speech patterns, favorite terms, etc. of each main character and refer to this chart or list often as you refine your story.

Once you have created your key characters, visualize them—their way of speaking, mannerisms, dress style, etc. and bring these differences to mind each time you use them to move your story forward—that is each time you have that character speak, respond or take some sort of action.

PLFry620@yahoo.com
http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com

I think most of you know I am writing my first novel. What a very different exercise in writing. I am so enjoying the journey and am learning a lot. I must say, I am also gaining tremendous admiration for those of you who write fiction so eloquently and seemingly easy.

There are fiction writers who, at some point in their career, decide they want to write a how-to, self-help or informational book related to an interest or special knowledge they have. You might realize, after years of writing fiction, that you have something to teach or share. Or you have been seeking a book on a topic of your interest and can’t find one, so you’ve decided to write one.

It looks easy. But, for someone who is accustomed to writing fiction or children’s stories, nonfiction can be a challenge. What should know before attempting a nonfiction book?

• You must consider your audience just as you do when developing a novel. Give your reader what they need/want. What is missing out there? What information is not currently covered in books? For example, you might be well-versed in vegetarian cooking for a family and you want to share some of your recipes and tips for cooking vegetarian. Your recipes might be unique. But is there an angle you could take with your book that isn’t being covered—something that would make it stand out from the others? Maybe it would be vegetarian cooking for preschoolers or easy vegetarian meals with plenty of nutrition for seniors. The point is, make sure there is an audience for your nonfiction book before you go to work on it.

• Just as plot and the flow of the story are important to a novel, organization is vital to a nonfiction book. Make sure you present the various aspects, steps, information in the most organized manner so that your reader can easily absorb and learn from the material. If you are writing a book on how to bathe a cat, you might start by discussing why you would bathe a cat—what you would hope to achieve—how often it should be done, the types of problems that might occur when bathing a cat, for example. And then list the supplies you’ll need, the type of tub that you would recommend and then the technique. You could follow up with a trouble-shooting section. Strive for logical organization of your nonfiction book or article.

• While listing instructions can be second nature to someone who is used to writing how-to material, it isn’t always easy for the novelist or children’s book author to manage. This is why I suggest hiring an editor who is accustomed to editing and writing nonfiction. But first, you might ask friends to read some of your lists of instructions for their comments and suggestions. It’s especially helpful to run a how-to book on the subject of gardening, for example, or horseback riding by someone who does not garden and who has never ridden a horse. If they can make sense of your instructions, you are probably on the right track.

I encourage writers to work within their area of expertise as much as possible. But if you desire the experience of stepping outside your comfort zone and writing in a new genre or category, be smart. Take with you, the basic skills, but be willing to learn and use new (to you) techniques in order to make your writing experiments work well.

Contact me with your comments and your editorial questions:
PLFry620@yahoo.com

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