All Entries Tagged With: "freelance writing"
Plan B From Utter Desperation
The eminently sensible man who is my father always used to ask me when I was trying to get acting work if I had a Plan B. Of course I didn’t. Plan Bs were for people whose Plan As weren’t going to work. My Plan A was to become a famous actor and that was [...]
Where Do Writing Ideas Come From?
I have a few blogs that I write articles for. The commitment isn’t all that huge, really. It amounts to a dozen or so obligatory articles for my paying clients. Once I add the articles I should write for my own blog, I’m looking at about 20 articles a month. At first blush this doesn’t [...]
And The Award Goes To …
This isn’t really about freelance writing. Okay, it’s nothing to do with it. I have spoken before about the effect poor education has on writing skills, but this isn’t even that tenuous. It’s just a funny/sad tale I heard a couple of days ago. The 12-year-old son of a friend of ours in the UK [...]
Preparing To Write
I was having an extended Twitter session last night when one of my followers asked what I do to get focused. This got me thinking about what I do to get prepared to write. My rock-solid answer is… It depends. Sometimes I’ve got a clear vision of an inspired writing session and I just sit [...]
Hello, Is It Me You’re Looking For?
When I was doing my TV work, I got an interesting and uplifting perspective on the whole interview process from a big casting director. I had expressed my chagrin at the odds against me (or any of the other actors) securing the part, given the sheer number of us being seen by the casting team [...]
The Bright Side Of Freelance Writing
In my post last week I pointed out some of the things that you would be giving up by pursuing your freelance writing dream. The flip side of that coin is that there is some pretty cool stuff about being a freelance writer. Let’s talk about it a bit. The good stuff: Freedom – Do [...]
Billy No-Mates
Are you a happy, outgoing individual with a pleasing disposition and a great sense of humour? No, I don’t want a date with you. I only ask because, if you are not yet immersed full-time in freelance writing, you should consider how your character may affect your response to the pressures and loneliness of the [...]
What Have You Given Up To Freelance?
I like being a freelance writer. In my wildest dreams I never imagined someone would pay me to write. I’ve been fortunate enough to have some pretty good gigs laid at my feet and I’ve engaged with some of the coolest people around. With that said, there are some sacrifices to be made as a [...]
Hepl!
I am allowing my blog this week to be used by someone who contacted me recently in search of my help with freelance writing. His name is Conrad Blatterstein. Over to you, Conrad. Giterengs, I want to tarts with a sorty. It saw no my tenth brithday that my pranets dolt me I had a [...]
Do your writing skills ever go away?
In the last six months or so, my writing has been dwindling. I find that more and more I am second guessing my writing. I write a lot less than I did even a year ago and lately it seems that maybe the chops have fallen to the wayside a bit. I’m a bit unsure [...]
Enough is Enough
In the acting profession, the old adage is that you need to be in work to get work. In other words, people will give you more work when they see what you can do. There’s also a large element of bandwagon-jumping involved; people scrambling to employ you before someone else does. That’s why certain faces [...]
Know Your Limits
A lot of folks who get into freelance writing think that the sky is the limit. If the grammar is good, the prose is readable, the voice is engaging, then everything will fall into place for a long and fruitful freelance writing career. It’s a nice thought but it’s not exactly steeped in reality. Limits [...]
Internet Killed the Writing Star
The Buggles wrote a little ditty back in 1979 called “Video Killed the Radio Star”. It bemoaned the coming age of music videos, portending a career death to all those singers and groups who had once made their living from the radio. Stupid song, really. The singers and groups all inevitably ended up making music [...]
The Ratatouille Writer
One of my daughter’s favorite movies is Ratatouille. Hence, it is one we watch often. In case you are not familiar, it is an animated story about a special rat who finds himself cooking in a famous restaurant in Paris. The name of the restaurant is Gusteau’s and the owner of the restaurant had a [...]
A Load of Balls
Working online as a freelance writer means you probably don’t have to deal with too many other arty types. Of course you will have clients, but most of them, by definition, are not arty, because if they were they would be doing the writing themselves. Being a novelist or a screenwriter, on the other hand, [...]
I Need a Vocation
What? Did I say vocation? Please, no, I have two already. God, or whoever’s in charge up there, please do not land me with another. I meant to say I need a vacation. I felt my first stirrings of a vocation shortly after arriving at London University in 1984 to supposedly read History. I say [...]
How To Become A Freelance Writer
Let’s get right to it. Have your head examined. Don’t worry, self examination is okay. You need to engage in some honest and serious introspection. You need to examine if you are ready and willing to get your head in the game. If you can’t commit fully to being a freelance writer, then you should [...]
The College of Freelancing
Earlier this week I had the opportunity to go speak at my girl’s second grade class on Career Day. Up until the day before, I had pretty much no idea what I was going to talk about in terms of being a writer. Ultimately I decided to spend the 15 minutes of fame talking about [...]
