Have you ever found yourself in a writing rut? That can feel like the words just won’t come. Perhaps there’s no more to write? Here’s how to break out of it. Foggy. Uncertain. Indecisive. Ever feel like that? As a writer, these feelings can be detrimental to productivity and happiness…
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5 Goals for 2020 Every Freelance Writer Should Set
Freelance writing is a rewarding career where you get to see your byline in many different publications. You also get to hand-pick your assignments and turn down those that don’t work for you. But being a freelance writer isn’t easy. Not by a longshot. The good times are a sea…
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Things I Learned about Writing in 2019
As 2019 dawned, my food blog was at its lowest point in a decade. Google updates hit me hard in 2018 — and my traffic wasn’t recovering. I had, however, managed to stop the sharp decline of traffic though. And I was working on improving SEO on old posts and…
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A Freelance Writer’s Guide to Finding Writing Ideas
Successful freelancing is part networking, part drive and part boundless effort — especially when it comes to pitching (or querying) for new assignments. Even when business is booming and assignments are coming to you, you need to keep pitching (or, at a minimum, generating and writing down ideas for pitches).…
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Rejected Essays: Am I Really Done Having Kids?
Are you done having kids? That’s a question you aren’t supposed to ask others (but oops … how many times did I do that?!? Not proud of it, but it’s true). But it’s also a question I’ve asked myself again and again and again. Over the years, the answer varied…
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Sometimes Parting Ways with a Long-Term Writing Client isn’t a Bad Thing
Years ago, when I first ventured into freelance writing, I thought my experience as a newspaper reporter would mean that the assignments would just come to me. I put the word out that I was looking for freelance work, pitched a few ideas and … nothing. I struggled through the…
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Rejected Essays: The 7 Stages of Moving
While the prospect of living somewhere fresh and new can be exhilarating, the process of moving isn’t fun. Cleaning out closets and drawers, packing boxes, having your bad habits (like, ahem, not throwing away junk mail in a timely manner) laid bare as you pack … There is an almost-universal…
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10 Writing Prompts to Kick-Start Your Writing Day
Sometimes I stare at the screen as the minutes tick by, willing the words to come. There are columns to write and deadlines to meet and … when the words aren’t flowing freely, it’s hard. Much like athletes need to stretch before a race, writers sometimes need a little warming…
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Three Steps to Combat Writer Burnout
Are you suffering from writer burnout? You aren’t alone. Lots of writers deal with burnout. These three steps will help you refresh and move ahead. Sometimes it seems like everything — writing, meeting deadlines, meetings, to-do lists — swirls around at lightning speed leaving little room to breathe. It’s suffocating.…
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Rejected Essays: Why I sometimes break my own house rule with my kids
As a single mom, I make the rules in our house — and they are rules I have created to encourage my kids to be thoughtful, considerate, responsible people. But even good rules have to be broken sometimes with good reason. That’s what this essay was about. I wrote it…