The Writing Life, Week Two

Last week I shared with you some drastic life changes, and that now I am trying out the freelance writing life. Now we're heading into week number two of my writing venture, and I wanted to take a moment to assess how it's going.

I am enjoying finding what methods work for me and hitting my writing stride. However, there have been some challenges as well. I've submitted to query letters to magazines and am growing extremely frustrated with the process as well as the up-front sense of non-accomplishment after spending an entire morning crafting just such a letter. Equally frustrating is the fact that when I think I've hit upon a great topic to query on, a Google search reveals that articles on that exact topic have recently hit newsstands. I'm trying to look at this positively since, as my father-in-law pointed out, my ideas are apparently publishable and in demand, I'm just a little late. I can't argue with that wisdom and logic!

I'm proud of my progress. In addition to querying magazines I started submitting to various reputable content sites (since not all content sites are created equal) to practice my freelance style and technique, beef up my clips, and get exposure while making a little (stress on the "little") cash. Here are my latest and greatest articles, which I'd love your feedback on:

• Get Snacky: The Importance of Snacks in Children's Diets

• The Not-So-Secret Key to Weight Loss

• "Surrogates" movie review

• Let Them Eat Hummus: 5 Healthy Recipes

• Choice Games From a Final Fantasy Fan

• CLICK Espresso Protein Drink Hits [Local City]

• Stretch Island Fruit Company: Two Product Reviews

I'm just getting started! I have a number of new ideas I want to write queries on, so that's my goal for today and tomorrow. Wish me luck and tastefully productive verbosity!

Before you go about achieving your own daily goals, stop by my Ask [Almost] Anything page. I just posted answers to these excellent and thought-provoking questions:

• You seem recovered from ED...yet the things you eat are not too different from a dieter. Eating healthy is good...but do you think you might be overdoing it?
  

• I like that you're so expressive about your faith, without tiptoeing around it. Do you ever feel a taboo in talking about your faith?

Happy Monday! What are your goals for the day? How do you help yourself accomplish them?