It All Begins Here

The time has officially come. I am diving headfirst into blogdom! Of course I swore I never would, but in this "dog-eat-me" world of freelance writing, enough was enough, and I thought it was time to play along. Why? Well, it's not easy to compete in the world of freelance writing, and I think a writer has to give himself (or herself in this case) every chance to land the dream job, or any job. Worst case scenerio, I have a new outlet for my creativity. If I meet a few wonderful fellow writers along the way, even better. If I get a paycheck out of it, holy cow, I'll be thrilled! Either way, it feels good to write, kind of like a treadmill for the mind, exercising, moving, sweating (yes, mental sweat counts).

I think back to my college days, sitting in my journalism advisor's office, staring at the poster of average monthly wages for a "j" grad right out of college. The things I could do with that money — Paris, Rome, Coach purses! Oh yes, journalism was for ME! Then came my first job, general assignment reporter at a small town daily. It was all a lie! What about that poster and the promises of lucrative lifestyles? OK, so maybe not THAT lucrative, but the point is that it was better than the small change I made in college. Lucrative is in the eye of the beholder! I earned $636 a month after taxes and deductions. I managed to give "the man" his rent money, his car payment, his car insurance, his gas money and his utility payments. And I still had some left over!

Fast forward more than 16 years later. My fast lane has detoured into a rest stop, where on a good day I enjoy an expired ham sandwich from the vending machine. But it's all good because the passion I had as a impressionable and eager reporter has not changed, and some days, I think it's even stronger, so when I shut my eyes at night, trying to conjure up dreams of George Clooney baking me a peach cobbler, I know it's all good.

Hopefully you'll enjoy this blog. I've got lots to say — some inspirational, some funny, and if you're lucky, some that is utterly pointless. Come back soon for the next installment of Confessions of a Freelance Writer... until then ....

Be happy , write happy, but most of all, JUST WRITE!

CJ