Creative writing gig?

I’m obviously not the best blogger on the planet. Shocking, right?? I mean, I’m bad about uploading on time, if at all. Schedules are my enemy. My life isn’t interesting enough to produce a lot of content for writing. I’ve discovered I’m all around terrible at marketing myself as a blogger. I’m basically the rebellious teenager of bloggers. I want to keep up for the sake of forcing myself to try something new and actually follow through with a project I started for once. I’m kind of tired of being the queen of projects started but never finished. However, I’m also discovering blogging is not the pièce de résistance of projects I enjoy.

Don’t get me wrong, blogging can be fun and a great creative outlet for me sometimes. But my true love when it comes to writing is creative writing. Technically this blog is a kind of creative writing, sure. However it’s not exactly the kind of creative writing I dream about. My creative writing love is found in the world of fantasy and fiction. Writing books about stories I created is the dream and goal I had when I majored in creative writing in college. I had even been working on a book for years before college. Now looking back, that book was pretty terrible in a lot of ways… But I loved writing it so much. I loved writing so much. Being able to create an entirely new world in my head and articulate it on paper for the enjoyment of others felt like my destiny and purpose in life, and it was a hobby I enjoyed with every fiber of my being.

These days, however, I don’t write much anymore outside of Facebook and blogging. It’s not because I no longer enjoy it, I just never feel motivated to start writing because I have this huge fear it will be another project I’ll never finish. And I hate not finishing books. I wish I could blame my lack of motivation on my kids, but that would be oversimplifying the real issue. My creative dry patch started in college. I had so many studies and so little time management skills, a lot of my creative hobbies flew right out the window. I joined an art class in hopes that it would help mold my artistic abilities and it burned me out so badly, I didn’t draw anything for years afterwards. I still rarely draw, and I used to draw every single day in high school. The same thing happened with writing. My English/writing classes were so drab and bland, I just lost all motivation to write creatively. I wrote well in my classes, but they were informative papers, not creative.

As far as my book went, I had a huge case of writer’s block. I think I still may have it a little. But something I read recently gave me hope. I had been poking around online to see what are good ways to make a little extra money online when I came across an article written by a man who had recently experimented in the business of writing short stories to essentially self publish and sell cheaply in online book stores. This made me so excited. I may not be able to sit down and write an entire novel, but I can definitely convince myself to write a short story. I could probably pump out a short story a week if I really wanted to. And now you’re telling me I could also make a little cash doing what I love? Sign me the heck up! This is exactly what I think I need to get my foot back in the door to the creative writing world. Even if I write these stories and make no money at all, I will be happy to at least get my creative juices flowing again. Fingers crossed writing again will help me get my passion back.

Work from home… how exactly?

As I shared in my last post, this momma is looking to upgrade her housing situation. That means I have to make at least 1k a month to make up for the money we’d lose, according to my agreement with my husband. How will I do this? Here’s my secret: I HAVE NO IDEA. Per usual, I am flying by the seat of my pants. I have been scouring the internet all day for ideas on jobs I can do from home. There seem to be a lot of call center options and tech support options. Then there’s babysitting/nannying. Teaching Chinese children how to speak English via online lessons. But if I’m going to start working and trying to make money, I really want to find something I’ll enjoy/be good at, otherwise this whole thing will wear me down. And I’m already pretty worn down as it is just from daily life as a mother of two toddlers and 2 big dogs. I know, I know. Beggars can’t be choosers. I shouldn’t be so picky when I really do desperately need to get out of my current neighborhood. But that’s why I’m giving this blogging thing a solid try again. And on top of that, I’m going to try to finally indulge my crafty side and start selling homemade items online. We’ll see how that goes. I am famous for making these ambitious plans, only to gwt burnt out and not follow through. My long term goal is to finish my studying so I can officially start the process for becoming a certified birthing instructor. Birthing instruction is just one of my passions, plain and simple. But that goal will take a lot of time and money, so in the meantime I will have to rely on etsy and wordpress to help me realize my dreams of living in a house that fits my family. I can just see it now… We finally live in a house that fits our family’s needs. No more small rooms overcrowded with furniture. I’ll actually have room to decorate with adorable things. We’ll have weekly meetings in my living room for birthing classes where I’ll teach new parents on how to navigate the ups and downs of childbirth. My kids will finally have room to play and dogs will have room to run in the house without knocking toddlers over and running into walls. Each child will have their own room and own personal space. It’ll be amazing. I’m honestly getting myself way more worked up than I should. Making 1k a month is a pretty tall order for someone working from home. Everyone nowadays wants to work from home, so the competition is fierce. So many people blog, too. And so many sell crafts on etsy. I have to admit, this makes me feel like I’m not very special or unique. At this point I might as well start a photography business so I can be even more run-of-the-mill than I already am. My greatest wish is that people who come across my blog and wares on etsy feel entertained by my services and come back for more. I want them to like me for me, not because I’m just another blog to follow or just another ship to love. The market is competitive, so I’m going to have to bring something unique to the table if I’m going to be taken seriously and build a business. We’ll see how all this works out. Hopefully by the end of the year I’ll be blogging from a new, spacious house!