Tag Archives: writing

Getting Back to Writing

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I ease back into writing for hire.

One of the things I’ve been working on part-time for past few years is getting back into writing articles for publication.

Waterway Guide

Although I thought I had a working relationship with Waterway Guide, that fizzled out pretty quickly. The publisher was initially excited about working with me and made some suggestions about how much money I might earn writing for them. I did my part to help build content on their site with a never-ending stream of marina and anchorage reviews. (I still get the occasional compliment for my reviews.)

But after months on the Loop, I just got one article assignment — and I never got paid for it. I was very interested in helping to update the Skipper Bob books — especially the one for the Erie Canal — but was told other people were doing it. No other work was forthcoming. So I stopped writing reviews. I’m a professional writer, after all, and I’m not going to go out of my way to build content for a for-profit publication without getting compensation for my work.

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Why I’m Not Blogging as Regularly as I Used To

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I think there are two reasons this time, one familiar and one new.

Let’s face it: I’ve been blogging at An Eclectic Mind since long before it had that name. My first blog post was way back in 2003. The blog had my name back then, Maria Langer, and it could be found at MariaLanger.com — where it can still be found; try it! I wrote about the things that were on my mind. For a while, I wrote computer-related how-to content, but I eventually broke that out and put it into a site called Maria’s Guides which I’ve since allowed to die. I wrote a lot about politics. I wrote a lot about my work and my play. I wrote a lot about my crazy divorce. I wrote a lot about social media. I wrote a lot about building a new life in Washington State.

Heck, I just wrote a lot about anything that was on my mind.

And that’s what I personally think a blog is for. At least this blog.

There are no ads here. No tracking. No annoying pop-ups begging you to subscribe or send me money. It’s just the blog of a writer — a person who has always written — sharing what’s on her mind.

If you come here often to read my latest and actually like a lot of what you read, great! I’m thrilled to have you here!

But if you stumbled in here unknowingly and have concluded that this blog is crap and a total waste of your time, well, just go away and don’t come back. It doesn’t bother me.

And if you think that’s harsh, well blame social media. (Also understand that “go away” is not what I originally wrote.)

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Getting Sucked In to the Traveler’s Notebook Craze, Part 3

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Four months on, I’m using my notebooks regularly and have made them part of my life.

Note: This is part 3 of my Traveler’s Notebook saga. You can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here. – Maria

Time has gone by. I haven’t written much in this blog, mostly because April, May, June, and most of July have been crazy hectic for me. I finally got my boat into San Juan Yachting’s charter program, I made jewelry inventory for and attended four art shows, and I even managed to spend just over two weeks on the boat with a good friend of mine. Along the way, I planted my garden, maintained my vehicles, cared for my home and pups, and socialized with friends.

In other words, I lived a busy life.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Battling Irrational Beliefs

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Some comments related to an excellent blog post about the ABC model of Rational-Emotive Therapy and being a writer.

One of the blogs I’ve included in my RSS feed reader is called Writer Unboxed. It presents anywhere from 5 to 10 blog posts related to writing each week. Some are extremely specific, such as a recent post about including blurbs with published books. Others are more general, such as the one I’m touching upon today, which discusses psychology.

If you’re serious about writing, whether for yourself or for publication and (hopefully) profit, this is a great blog to follow. I won’t say that I read every post in detail, because I don’t. But I find that many of the ones I do read give me lots of food for thought. I usually share my thoughts in a comment on the blog post — that’s why I really like blogs that allow commenting — but sometimes those comments will trigger a blog post here. That’s what happened today.

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Getting Sucked In to the Traveler’s Notebook Craze, Part 2

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I make my own Traveler’s Notebook and fillers — with limited success and lessons learned.

Note: This is part 2 of my Traveler’s Notebook saga. You can find Part 1 here. – Maria

About two weeks ago, I blogged about my attraction to and doubts about the Traveler’s Notebook system. If you didn’t read that post and don’t want to, the very short story is this:

  • Traveler’s Notebooks — originally by Midori, a Japanese company — combine a leather folder-like cover with inserts held in by elastic cords. They are highly flexible, allowing you to build a notebook with the components you need.
  • Traveler’s Notebooks were wildly popular about 10 years ago and still have an almost cult-like following among people who journal or take notes on the go.
  • Traveler’s Notebooks are relatively expensive to set up, but YouTube has dozens of DYI videos to teach you how to make your own.
  • I decided to make my own, following the very detailed instructions in a specific video.

And that’s where I left off. I’ve since made the notebook and started using it. Here’s what I’ve learned.

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