Call me Ishmael...

or don't, but please don't tell my Honors writing class teacher (Fred Pinegar) that I really didn't much care for Moby Dick. Sure, some parts were okay, but I really didn't get too tied up in the knot chapters.

Ehe. Hehe. You got the pun there?

Actually, aside from Moby Dick, I really got a lot out of that writing class. It was a class I took during my very first semester as an undergrad. In fact, I believe it was my second class (on my schedule) of that semester.

Consider:

• I met my wife in that class.
• I gained a true appreciation for the craft of writing.
• I fell more in love with Shakespeare.

That's pretty okay, eh?

Anyway.

Here's the report:

I've spent a lot of time lately looking for a full-time job. I'm still scooting after that dream and all, but money is required. The family needs to eat and a mortgage payment needs to be paid... sometime.

However, I have done some work on adjusting some passages so that they are more suited to higher level readers. That's been fun. I've also completed a large amount of data entry for a professor I've known for some years. This has equalled some $, which is much appreciated.

I've begun research on another personal finance article for LDS Living. I am confident that will come out well.

And I've been working hard on improving the quality of my blogs. Making them more interesting and such. I recently launched my gardening blog: http://theprovidentgarden.wordpress.com, and am working on getting a massive pile of existing content up over there. I should make progress on that today.

But today I need to work on data entry, as well as do some work with those higher-level passages. So since those both pay and they are high priority, I will do them first.

Oh yeah, I put together my first advertorial this week. It was fun. I bet you can guess what an advertorial is by the creative way that word has been invented. Putting one together is like a cross between doing some graphics work along with composing content. Man I need to learn graphic design. Hmm, better not forget to bill those guys.

I'm also creating a brochure for a chiropractor. This work is being done in trade.

So I'm keeping busy, but I can see the other side of this work... and it looks pretty empty of the old cash thing.

Onward into the dark.

I'll do a writing exercise on Friday.

carpe somnium

Here's a report on the writing of late.

Sorry I haven't been around for three whole weeks! Where does the time go? The last time I posted here was on my 35th birthday!

Okay, so the first thing to say is that I had another aticle in LDSLiving's online magazine. Yes, I am angling to get into the print version, but this is okay for now. Here's the link:

http://www.ldsliving.com/magazine/show/2035/Bye-Bye-Debt

By the way, this article has actually generated some buzz. The editor of the magazine has been forwarding responses to the piece and they're in general pretty great! What's more, they added my byline and included a link to my personal finance blog. So on Tuesday, when the piece came out, http://personalfinancegym.blogspot.com had 100 hits! I've never had that many in a day before, so that was a red letter day!

I have actually updated my finance blog too. This newest entry reveals some secrets about credit scoring. Check it out! Share!

I have also put two new pieces on http://powersderived.blogspot.com. One is about S.909-- the new hate crimes legislation. The other is my commentary about FOCA. Both are good and informative-- as well as entertaining reads.

As for other writing, I'm finishing a project for my biggest client. I'm also looking to get on with a major company to do regular work for them.

I might not be able to get a full time job, so I'm going to have to make this freelance thing work. Anyway, I'll do a writing exercise shortly. Back soon!

Writing career report, then a character sketch.

Before getting into today's writing exercise, I am supposed to report on my writing of late. As regular reader(s?) know, (thanks Aunt Edna!) I recently re-tooled this blog so that it could function as both a way for me remain accountable and keep readers in the loop, as well as a place for me to do some writing exercises.

So my recent writing has been rather substantial. Back on March 12th, I received an e-mail from an acquaintance/colleague with whom I had worked as an ESL teacher for BYU. She had moved on from the intensive English program we both taught at to become the ESL director for a local company that creates literacy software.

Now this next bit is a testimonial as to why you want to constantly be trying to expand your network when you're a freelancer.

So last year, probably in October or November or something, I had gone to a local ESL association's conference in St. George. It happened that this acquaintance, we'll call her Jane to protect the innocent, was the president of this association and she was there. I knew what she was involved with, so I mentioned to her that I was working as a freelance writer and that my services were always available if she needed them.

Since this is a basically linear story with a set-up that lends itself to a particular pay-off, you can no doubt figure out what this e-mail of the 13th was about. Turns out 'Jane' was in a bind and she needed 30 expository pieces by the end of the month. That's right, in 18 days, 16 if you count me as starting on Monday the 16th.

The pieces needed to be roughly 900 words long. I had topics approved by the 18th. I don't write on Sunday because it's the Sabbath and I don't write on Saturday very much because I usually don't have time.

Oh, and we went to Kanab for three days last week.

Added up, that means I had eight regular work days to write 27,000 words. And do the research for the topics. And do language analysis for each piece.

I got it done with some late nights and the lovely research etc. help of my awesome wife. So that's what my writing career has consisted of for the last two weeks. I also wrote about four or five articles for http://www.helium.com/, one of which I will link to in a new post.

Anyway, that's what I've been doing on writing for the past little while. No real novel writing lately, but that's what the next post is about. This post got too long, so my character sketch is in the next one!

Finally, the update we've all been waiting for...

I've been somewhat cryptic in my latest status updates on Facebook, and they have basically been alluding to what's been going on in my writing world of late.

Let me start this off by making as clear as possible the pure and undiluted, and really quite distilled, fact that it is 6:40AM here and I have been working at the kitchen table for the last 10 (ten) hours. Not straight, because I get up every hour or so to stretch. And I had to go get some Rockstar.

Am I getting ahead of myself? Can't tell.

Okay. So my client in Korea keeps feeding me lots of work. I could probably work on it full time two to three days per week. But there's so much other stuff to do during the daytime that I end up doing the lion's share of the work at night. So I have just finished something in the realm of 20 hours of work for this client. This is, of course, at my hourly rate of $25.

So that's nice. Tasty in fact. It's a lot of questions and extension activities, but I'm getting pretty good at it and I think it plays right into my strengths as an educator and writer.

I have to say right now that I am extremely grateful for this work. How wonderful it is to do something you love. Sure, this gets a little tiring and tiresome, but it pays and it is essentially what I love to do.

That's not all. I landed another client: it's basically a partner company of WeXL, the company I market for right now--which is another day job. And that day job is going okay, although with the recent goings on, I've had to keep the time I spend on that one to a minimum since it doesn't deal with deadlines so much.

So I wrote a website and sales letter for that new client, am in the process of tweaking that copy as they finalize things, and have already been paid on my invoice. Sweet!

I have a good friend who works with this new client as well, and he passed on the name of a fellow who was looking for a ghost writer to work with him on a large-ish instruction manual. I met with them three weeks ago and it went well. I spent some time with the material needing written up and sent along a sizable (very!) estimate, which is, albeit, negotiable.

Wow, I haven't slept in 24 hours (almost) and I think I just used 'albeit' correctly in a sentence. I'll just soak that up for a second.........................................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Okay, I'm back. That should be able to be parlayed into good work, and ongoing work with that company as well, since the main client is a marketing company that specializes in web marketing. Funny, I specialize in web copy!

That's not all! HA!

I sold an article on Helium.com's marketplace. Incidentally, if you want to make some extra cash (it starts small but snowballs with diligence and patience) check out:
http://www.helium.com/marketplace?placement=CL45690

That article sold for $32. Not terrible. It was about how to make homemade bread.

I cashed out over $100 from Helium.com this last month. That was the result of my large collection of articles on there, about 8 or 10 new articles, and one sold marketplace article. Considering I spent about ten hours over the month on Helium, that's not terrible for a writing website.

Dang, my Pandora's playing U2's Mysterious Ways. I love this one. Actually, it's pretty much my favorite U2 tune.

But that's not all!

I got an e-mail from a publication out of Canada, one that has a print and online version and a readership of over 250,000 (does that mean they have 250,001?). This was the editor of this magazine that e-mailed me. She invited me to contribute regularly to their American offshoot. It's about gardening-- one of my favorite subjects to write about!

But that's not all!

But that IS all I can say right now. When the deal happens or doesn't happen (that's all the detail I can give right now, sorry!) I'll pass it on. But it could be big. I mean... uh... insanely big.

Kristi. Melinda. Kaye. Mike. (Amy too).
I owe you a huge thanks. Your advice (mostly Melinda and Kristi, but the others' support of this advice) to maybe focus on non-fiction was inspired. I know it. I am not abandoning fiction, but there's something I need to do in the realm of non-fiction. I can feel the shivers of excitement right now.

I'm not kidding. I'm trembling with this right now. Maybe it's partly the Rockstar, maybe it's the lack of sleep. I've simply got a certainty that I'm going the right way at this point. No doubt about it. And as I write that, the HOLY GHOST, who is the teacher and Comforter, confirms this certainty.

Why does so much of society, including me far too much of the time, discount our most important sense? I mean, our physical senses can be deceived so easily. But our other sense: the one many of us call soul, or spirit, or heart, or intuition is actually not so easily deceived. Yet we so easily mistrust it.

That's all for now.

Or not. Actually, the WeXL thing is going well too. It's neat to be marketing something, and beginning to be successful with that something, that actually helps people. I'll actually help a client save over $650,000 in interest alone over the next eight years!

Now that's all. The update I'd been needing to post for a while.

My head's above water now, so I've got to go leap in again. I'll do the bed thing first, though.

Wow, they like me...

they really like me!

Or maybe they are .... uh... I actually can't think of anything else.

Check out www.helium.com again and show support for good old me. I'm featured on their homepage again! I really have no clue why I'm featured again, so soon after I had an article featured and was the featured writer, but I'm not complaining.

This website is really nifty. Any writer or person who wants to be a writer should go there through my referral link though, that means I get more cred there. So try this out: http://www.helium.com/marketplace?placement=CL45690

That'll make things happen.

Seriously, the writing thing is--as a freelancer-- is going somewhere suddenly. I've got to come back tonight and pass on some of what's been happening. These last couple of weeks have been a very interesting time.

May the force be with you.

It looks like my writing lives. So I'm off to carpe somnium. (Grammar sucks there, but it's fun to say.)

Yay, I'm famous!

Okay, maybe not, but I'm making progress. Once again, I am on www.helium.com 's home page. So just click on that link and scroll down until you see the article by happy me!

You know what else, you might just learn a thing or two about winter gardening activities.

Or you could just ... uh... wait, I lost my train of thought.

But at least I'll never forget the squirrel dance, which I learned from the mighty Hap the Sniffling Poodle last year.

The end.

As for ImGoToWrANoMo, it ended up being: I had a lot of paying freelance work in December, so it didn't happen. This is the month. Whew. Got that off my chest.

Oh, Annemarie and I are doing our own version of Biggest Loser. I came up with the best week-level prizes ever. Can anyone guess what they are?

Scrabbling upward

Back again. I know, two days in a row! Shocking, but a blessing to all those reading.

Only joking.

The last couple of days have been challenging, to say the least. I've been trying to fight the hit on my self-esteem that losing out on this job is dealing me. Brain-wise, I know perfectly well that the job fell through because of budget issues, but that otherwise I had it in the bag. That is comforting, but it doesn't help the old concept that I am supposed to be providing for my family and that I just can't seem to do it.

Doubts and stuff keep resurfacing. Should I have just stuck out the MA in TESOL program? Why didn't we just stay in Alaska and stay afloat up there, particularly since this year's dividend is something in the neighborhood of $3000! Maybe we should have not done the whole QuitandWrite thing and just stayed at the teaching. I mean, there's no doubt that if we had refinanced this house to take out a bunch of the equity, and then re-invested that cash into another property, we would be better off financially.

Arg. Why can't I be like the Last Unicorn and not be able to have regrets?

Then there's my certainty that The Cabin is going to sell, and then do really well. But that's going to take time. And then if it doesn't even happen, clearly I just suck.

Which I don't think is the case.

So now I've signed up to teach two writing classes at BYU's English Language Center. That's a semester-long commitment, so I will put the full-time job search on hold. I've also started prospecting for more freelance work via www.getafreelancer.com. Then there's the work I'm doing for a friend, who runs www.schooltipline.com.

Scrabbling upward. Got to keep afloat and keep the dream alive.

Sometimes (read: often) I find myself thinking that the cosmos (read: God in His Heaven) is telling me that I'm not really ever supposed to get tied up in a regular 8-5 job. If that's the case, and if we're supposed to just continue on our atypical path, that's fine. But we need to have some of these outside the box things come through.

Blech. I'll stop with the moroseness.

I wrote three articles for Helium today. One is for the Marketplace, and if it gets picked up, that's a pretty good paycheck for an article. Incidentally, I'm making upward of $50 each month on Helium, without really doing anything for the last few months. Not a terrible residual.

I'll be picking up The Cabin again probably in another week. I need to get settled in at the ELC again.

Carpe somnium, dudes.

Finishing my Thursday

Well, today was pretty good. I spent my morning at a local thrift store helping sort and hang up clothes. It was fine.

Then I got home, put my youngest down for a nap, had lunch and waited for my wife to get back from dropping the older boy off at Spanish school. When she got back, I went to a meeting out at Charted Course. I was right; I have a bunch more work to do. I need to finalize the User Manual by the end of Monday. Then I have other stuff to do.

When the meeting got done, I went to the library, checked out some books then worked on Mars Betrayal. I am at the last scene. I really wanted to get it done today, but I should have it done tomorrow morning. Then I will get to work on the Charted Course stuff. I'll take some time tomorrow to write at least one article for Helium, maybe two.

And that's really it. I will finally be getting paid for my work for Charted Course. Up until now, I have been doing my work on a trade basis: I am a client and a rep with no out of pocket money, and I gave them 100 free hours of work.

Now I am simply doing freelance work and I will give them a time summary and an invoice for each month that I do work. Woohoo! The pay will be $15/hour for now, but that will probably go up as things expand and I start doing more varied work for them.

It's possible I will be going to a conference in Vegas during the second weekend of February. Still not certain I'm going, but it's likely.

So that's it. We watched The Simpson's Movie and broke our 2 week sugar fast with some B & J tonight. Funny movie, but not spectacular. It was like three episodes rolled into one. And that's fine. And now I will go. Until tomorrow!

January 11, 2008: Friday

I am back! I must apologize for the long absence, and I hope the three of you (maybe two?) that actually visit this site accept my apology. I am going to post some cool writing opportunities now, but will be back later to post an update.

I just wanted to post some links here for those who are interested in earning some money for their writing. There are a lot of opportunities to get paid as a freelancer, and there are fully legitimate. They are not get-rich schemes. They are potential clients for freelancing and a great way to build your writing portfolio. And you get money IF your article is chosen. So write your best! On a side note, I am posting these because I am already making some money from this, and I figured I ought to share the wealth. Thanks to all those who have supported me in my quest to fulfill my dream.

Check these out:

#1. Mystery Stories - $50 - Due: 1/17 - 1,200-1,500 words

The following mysteries need stories: Valentine's Day, Memorial Day, St. Patrick's Day, War of 1812, Baseball, Revolutionary War, SuperbowlMystery should include at least four suspects and four clues weaved into the story. Mystery and solution need to be included at the end; mysteries will be used in school and should be written at a sixth-grade reading level.

Follow this link: http://www.helium.com/?ad=613&placement=forums&iw=45690&redir_url=http%3A%2F%2Fmarketplace%2Ehelium%2Ecom%2Fmarketpublisher%3Fpubid=366718

#2. Aquarium Community - $100 - Due: 1/16 - 500-1000 words
Provide an in-depth analysis of the different water parameters that are needed to keep a saltwater reef tank, such as Nitrates, Nitrites, PH, Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium, Phosphates, Salinity, etc. Give the scientific formulas and the amounts needed in a saltwater aquarium.

To submit an article, follow this link: http://www.helium.com/?ad=613&placement=forums&iw=45690&redir_url=http%3A%2F%2Fmarketplace%2Ehelium%2Ecom%2Fmarketpublisher%3Fpubid=370477

#3. Boomer Lifestyle - $40 - Due: 1/16 - 700-800 words

*Connection between sleep deprivation and mentail illness *What goes on in our brain when we fall in love? *New Study: Can the eyes play tricks on the ears? *Is your relationship in danger of an affair? *What are the physical causes of depression?

Follow this link: http://www.helium.com/?ad=613&placement=forums&iw=45690&redir_url=http%3A%2F%2Fmarketplace%2Ehelium%2Ecom%2Fmarketpublisher%3Fpubid=342166

#4 ePersonal Finance - $80 - Due: 1/16 - 800-1200 words

How to articles, for a web audience (use subheadings, bullets, short paragraphs), SEO, ghostwritten

How to...
• Set up a Roth IRA • Buy life insurance • Refinance mortgage • Set up a budget • Set up an IRA • Avoid a tax audit • Calculate costs of buying home
• Pay for college • Maximize retirement income • Buy life insurance • Avoid probate • Get out of debt • Care for aging parents • Expediate tax refund

Follow: http://www.helium.com/?ad=613&placement=forums&iw=45690&redir_url=http%3A%2F%2Fmarketplace%2Ehelium%2Ecom%2Fmarketpublisher%3Fpubid=299635

#5 Auto Craze
Requirements:Compensation – $16 Deadline – 1/22/08Word Count – 400-1,000

Car tips & Tricks
How to choose an auto insurance broker
How to shop for online car insurance
Cheap car rental tips
Guide to kit cars
Guide to shopping for hot rods

Custom Cars & Accessories
Guide to car CD players
Guide to shopping for radar detectors
Guide to subwoofers for car stereos
Choosing the right truck bed liner

Motorcycles & Recreational Vehicles
Motorcycle racing 101
Best motorcycle gloves
Must-have motorcycle apparel
A day in the life of a NASCAR fan
Best recreational vehicles

Parts, Performance & Repair
A beginner’s guide to fuel injection
How your car transmission works
The easiest ways to find auto body parts
How to change your motor oil
How to change your spark plugs
…And many more

Follow: http://www.helium.com/?ad=613&placement=forums&iw=45690&redir_url=http%3A%2F%2Fmarketplace%2Ehelium%2Ecom%2Fmarketpublisher%3Fpubid=374028

#6 Friends in Energy – $25 – Due: 1/14/08 – 400-700 words

Gear content towards expatriates in the energy industry between the ages of 25 and 45.

*2008 outlook for the energy industry*Best perks in frequent flyer programs*2008: Predicting extreme and retro sporting trends*Easy to implement environmental resolutions for the new year*Satire: Adventures of a multinational family celebrating the holidays

Follow: http://www.helium.com/?ad=613&placement=forums&iw=45690&redir_url=http%3A%2F%2Fmarketplace%2Ehelium%2Ecom%2Fmarketpublisher%3Fpubid=373268

#7 Travel Planning Guide – San Diego, CA - $40 – Due: 1/16/08 – 350-500 words

*Water sports and activities in San Diego, CA*San Diego, CA: Hidden attractions*Visiting San Diego, CA in the summer; spring; winter*Guide to fishing in San Diego, CA*A guide to San Diego beaches

Go to: http://www.helium.com/?ad=613&placement=forums&iw=45690&redir_url=http%3A%2F%2Fmarketplace%2Ehelium%2Ecom%2Fmarketpublisher%3Fpubid=315563

#8 Irreverent Downloadable Game Site (Promo 4) -
Requirements:Compensation per selected review – $20
Deadline – 1/15/08
Word count – 400-500

Online video game reviews, 400-500 words, needed for: Farm Frenzy, Rooms, Night of the Zombies, Cryptex of Time, and Fairway Solitaire. Original reviews should be written in active voice and include rating and commentary on game play, graphics, sound, creativity, and innovation. Free trials available!

Go to: http://www.helium.com/?ad=613&placement=forums&iw=45690&redir_url=http%3A%2F%2Fmarketplace%2Ehelium%2Ecom%2Fmarketpublisher%3Fpubid=363365

#9 Boomer Lifestyle - $40 - Due: 1/16 - 700-800 words

*Connection between sleep deprivation and mentail illness *What goes on in our brain when we fall in love? *New Study: Can the eyes play tricks on the ears? *Is your relationship in danger of an affair? *What are the physical causes of depression?

Go to: http://www.helium.com/?ad=613&placement=forums&iw=45690&redir_url=http%3A%2F%2Fmarketplace%2Ehelium%2Ecom%2Fmarketpublisher%3Fpubid=342166

As a reminder, these opportunities are competitive. To get paid, you have to be selected. To be selected, you have to follow the guidelines and do great work.
Good writing!