Week of February 23, 2014 - Setting Up and Using My Writer's Portfolio

By Joan Whetzel

 

I’ve been at writing for over 15 years now, and so I have built up a decent Writer’s Portfolio. This portfolio consists of articles, blogs, ad whitepapers, as well as a few books that can be used to do one of two things: 1. get other writing jobs or 2. to get a full time job that involves writing, if I’m lucky.

 

During my writing “career” I have written on many subjects for both juvenile and adult audiences. I have collected both print article clips as well as  online web content and blogs. Since my husband’s death I have found myself using my online writer’s portfolio and a few select print articles when applying for jobs – to pay the bills. Hopefully, one day soon, this will pay off.

 

Paper clips of published print articles are easy to carry to interviews. Likewise they can be scanned in and emailed as attachments with online applications. For my online portfolio, I can simply direct potential employers to my blog or the websites where my articles can be viewed. Or I can pick a particular article or two that are directly – or indirectly – related to the job for which I am applying. I keep copies of many articles on my hard drive. I also keep copies of the links to my blog and the websites where my online content is available on both my hard drive and my thumb drive so I can apply for a job just about anywhere that has a wifi connection.

 

Directing employers toward my online content links, I can impress potential employers with quantity  and variety of my writing experience. On the other hand, some jobs call more for specific article or two. As long as the articles relate to the job they are appropriate for attaching to my application and resume.

 

Hopefully sometime soon, I’ll have a job. One that allows me to do some writing. And it’ll all be thanks to my Writer’s Portfolio.

 

Week of February 16, 2014 - Family Stories and Funerals

By Joan Whetzel

 

At the recent passing of my father, our family gathered together, sharing our grief during the days leading up to the funeral. We soon found ourselves recounting some of our family stories. Some of them were mingled with tears. Others elicited laughter.

 

It may seem odd that we should have had laughter and pleasant memories seeing as my dad had just passed. Watch enough TV shows and movies and you get and you get a different message about funerals and the death of loved ones. Hollywood portrays funerals and the families left behind as being filled with nothing but grief. It’s as if only a somber atmosphere and weeping are allowed. Laughter and the happy or funny stories being told at times like these carries a certain taboo, as if laughing is being disrespectful to the recently departed.

 

My boss recently lost two family members within a month, and she too found her family sharing not only their sorrow, but their happy memories as well. She too found that her family broke out laughing when retelling some of their wilder and more “adventurous” times together.

 

Usually these family stories are not written down anywhere. They’re only pulled out and traipsed around the living room at family gatherings. If mom and dad only knew half the things we did while we were still kids, we’d have been on permanent punishment, sitting on time out facing the wall until we were 30 or 40 at least. But that just makes the stories all the funnier.

 

Besides, retelling the funny family stories and the laughing out loud makes it easier to handle the grief. It also helps to reconnect with our departed family members through the memories that mean the most to us.

Week of Feb. 9, 2014 - Sorry No BLog This Week

Week of Feb. 2, 2014 – A Writer’s Guide to Making Excuses

By: Joan Whetzel

 

            Everyone makes excuse when they don’t feel like doing something, and come up with a whole list of reasons why the shouldn’t get to work. Writer’s are no exception. I am guilty  of creating excuses NOT to write. I’ve done it many times. Sometimes, the excuses win. Usually, I can find ways to overcome the excuses. But, I’ll admit, it’s not easy.

 

            There are two main keys to beating out the excuses. The first  key is in realizing that, as a freelance writer, I am the manager of my own business. As manager I cannot allow my “employees” to slack off. The second key is to motivate myself to get the researching, writing, and editing done in a timely manner. The main way is to bribe myself with a reward for getting the work done. Yeah, I get paid (most of the time) but there are days when I need additional enticement, like the promise of  a movie, or a nice lunch/dinner, or an afternoon at the park.

 

            Some of the excuses I have used include:

1.      It’s Too Big of a Project / There’s Too Much to Do. Breaking down the projects into smaller, more manageable bites, that can be completed by a specific due date helps overcome this excuse.

2.      I Feel Like Procrastinating. This is usually a problem with getting started with a project. I usually find that my routine has begun to get longer as an avoidance excuse to writing. I end up trimming back my routine to the barest essentials. And bring out the bribery.

3.      I Think My Idea Is Bad. I find I’m using this excuse when I don’t have enough information to flesh out the ideas. Overcoming this excuse usually means additional research. Sometimes, I need to let the ideas simmer on the back burner while I work on other projects. The solutions come to me when I least expect them.

4.      Other People’s Interruptions. Yes I have let other people interrupt my train of thought, then couldn’t get it back. The ways to get rid of this excuse is to let people know you’re working during specific time frames and ask them not to call, to use the answering machine, to turn off your cell phone, or to take the lap top to the park or some other location where nobody can find you. I have long since quit feeling guilty about avoiding others, especially when I’m on a roll.

 

            For every excuse, there is a remedy. I find that bribery really works.