Friday, September 17, 2010

Razor's Edge for 9/17/10

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Today I'm going in a different direction. I would like to start a conversation here about where to put our writing energies. I know we have different goals and projects - but I also am guessing that everyone has been faced with having to make decisions about what to write, when, where. I am also interested in what non-writer creative types have to say on this issue, as well. I know my partner, who is - among other things - a visual artist, has to make decisions about what medium to use, what venues will further her goals as an artist and what will feed her creative fire. I imagine that dancers, musicians, playwrights - anyone who creates - has choices at one time or another.

Let me know.

Let's have a conversation.

My writer friend, Christi Craig, addressed this issue when looking at the feeding and care of her blog. You can read her post at Writing Under Pressure.

My thoughts and questions are below: please post your thoughts as a comment, or email me directly!

Part A: Does anyone have any experience with - or knowledge about, know someone whose done - Bright Hub, or similar online sites? Here are a couple of links for the "seeking writers" and the main
BrightHub.

I've seen some of these sites, or searches for writers, before; this one just came up on WOW as searching for writers.

Part B: This is more a theoretical discussion - or the business of writing discussion - about where to put our writerly energies. Related to the above question, yes, but also in general.

Related to these online "hubs" (and there are a bunch of them) - is it worth one's time to write posts?

As a fiction and memoir/creative non-fiction writer (guess I should throw poetry in there, too!), is it worth my time to do some journalistic writing? Or will it be a detraction from the writing I like to do and the projects I have in process?

One "Plus" is that it *might* generate some income. And, certainly, I would like to get some income from my writing. And the paying markets for fiction are highly competitive. Maybe doing what I'm doing (interpreting) is the best route for income generation, rather than doing writing that is fine, but not where my energies are when I write. I like to write stories and memoir and overheard stories (are those memoir or fiction? *grin* - honestly, they become fiction when I write them because I have to fill in the missing details and I often change some of the exact details because I wouldn't want to be labeled as snoopy; or am I just being observant?).

One "negative" is, as I just said, writing the articles could detract from the other writing. If I'm spending a lot of time generating content for a website that I could use for writing -- where is the balance?

Does that type of writing give me energy to write or steal it? Is there the danger that that type of writing become the same as other jobs and diminish - or, shock, even ruin - my pleasure with writing?

What do you think?

Or, does anyone know of an independent wealth stream I can join that does not involve pyramids, uplines, money orders to foreign countries, or otherwise taking advantage of people? :-)
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