The Sandwich Occupation

You’ve heard of the sandwich generation. An entire generation (and generations to come) squeezed between taking care of aging parents and their own children. Full loads on both sides of running their own lives, including (usually) working full time jobs. They’re sandwiched between multiple slices of life, pressing down on them from every direction. A triple decker life sandwich, or more.

If I had to give the occupation of writing a moniker, it would be the sandwich occupation. Let’s face it, this occupation (for most) does not afford us a life of luxury. And, even more realistically, often times, does not even pay the bills. Many aspiring writers have yet to make any money at all. But the call is still there, the drive, the passion. So we write. We don’t do it because we expect it to provide that life of riches, allowing us to live in huge houses and drive different fancy cars every day of the week. We do it because we love it. We do it because we can’t not do it. To not do it, would be like not breathing. Even though we don’t get paid to do that either, it must be done. So, we continue to slog to our “paying jobs,” squeezing in whatever precious time we can to devote to our true calling. Sandwiched in between all those other sandwich generation things, but adding one more layer, squeezing in the thing that calls to us most. Writing.

So, to all my fellow slices of ham, Tofurky, tomato, lettuce…may the thing calling to you like lungs call for air someday be the slice of life that pays your bills.

 

Happy Writing!

~Traci

 
(Blog post originally published at http://traciisonschafer.blogspot.com  and used with permission here.)

Embracing the Sisters

 

 I am the newest Plot Sister and mighty glad to be part of this talented, dynamic and supportive group of women. I met them at a Wordsworth Writing Center class taught by author Katrina Kittle. I am at a point in my writing where I need a critique group and these five women and the structure they have established are the perfect solution.

 

I think my use of the word mighty in the first line was well chosen. These are mighty women and mighty writers who are mighty good at critique.  I’m feeling blessed, lucky, happy, and grateful to be a Plot Sister.

 

I am a firm believer in being a good literary citizen and part of that citizenship is to support other writers. This group not only meets twice a month for critique sessions but also forays into the community for events like author signings, Lit Salons (sponsored by the Antioch Writers’ Workshop), artist dates, and craft classes.

 

The best blessing upon being folded into the group was the privilege of reading their writing. Wow, just wow. I had to remind myself that this is what I asked the universe for, talented writers good at critique, and just plunge in. After having a session where my work was critiqued I can tell you they are also mighty kind and mighty clear in their suggestions as to how to improve the work.

 

All this mightying made me think of Mighty Mouse but that image just doesn’t work for us as women as there is no Mighty Woman Mouse. Hence the inclusion of Wonder Woman at the top of the post. Believe me, there are definitely weak sentences being deflected by power bracelets, overused words being lassoed, and plots being rescued from wandering.  These are “wonder”ful women and writers. Stay tuned folks, some incredible publications will emerge from this group.

 

Jude Walsh Whelley

Blog: Writing Now at www.judewalshwhelley.com

 

Getting There

A thought popped into my mind as I was pulling laundry out of the dryer, that every job I've ever had, I've either studied long and hard to do the job, i.e. spent five years in graduate school so I could teach those whippersnappers A&P, or I've had enough of a background to get hired, but then I gathered on-the-job training. In fact, the only job I didn't have training for was being a parent. You're just thrown into that job with very little background (babysitting counts, but not so much, really). Parenting is an extreme case of on-the-job training, right?

All of this thinking about jobs made me kick myself in the rear end, at least metaphorically. Despite the fact that I've been writing since I was young, I never majored in English, Literature, or Creative Writing; I never edited more than the high school newspaper (that is, until Literary Mama); I never enrolled in advanced writing courses at the college level. I've been picking my way through writing with the help of my writing group and some wonderful local writing courses, but to be honest, most of my writing education has been by trial and error and much perusing of online resources. And I didn't start this journey until 2012. Three years I've been at this. Only three years.

So why did I think, if it took me five years of graduate school to be able to stand in front of a class and do what I do, or over a decade to be the mother that I am, that I should be able to write a book and publish it in very little time? Am I that arrogant? I don't think so. I'm just that impatient. And I've spoken about that impatience before.

My plan? To stick with the writing life for the long haul, regardless of where I go and how long it takes me.

~Christina


(Blog post originally published at http://17gon.blogspot.com/ and used with permission here.)

Writing Tips, I

You can find this image here.

Go ahead and write like a master!

~Christina

One Word

I believe in the cliché, "say what you mean and mean what you say." One of our  Plot Sisters, Jude, encouraged our writing group to individually choose a word that had meaning for us. It was understood that the word we chose would manifest itself somehow in our writing in the next 12 months, but it could also have other personal significance. Mine has both.

My word is diligent. While I have two completed manuscripts, a handful of essays and short stories, I've been on a hiatus from regular writing and submitting for a variety of legitimate and not-so legitimate reasons. I appreciated the challenge to reflect and contemplate the trajectory of the upcoming year. I want to continue. I want to make time to keep sitting down with my thoughts and keep the creative juices flowing. Despite setbacks or rejection I want to move forward. I want to be diligent.

The accountability, critiquing, and support that my writing group/ friends provide is monumental. We're going on four years together. Hard to believe we've stuck it out through scheduling conflicts and life's moments that pull at our time and attention. I'm very thankful. Twice a month I have the opportunity to learn from very gifted writers. So along with being thoughtful of what I want to do and where I want to go in 2016, its hard not to be a little reflective of how far we've all come.

Placing an emphasis on a goal, a journey, or even simply, a word ... is powerful. We've all got a story to tell and hopefully, this year, I'll also have a few to share.

~Cindy