Writing. Just... writing.
All I want to do is work on articles. All I want to do is write all day, and I don’t want to focus solely on my novels. I just want to write. I want to create for people, non-fiction articles, feature pieces, album reviews, concert reviews, interviews with artists.
My current 9 to 5 really gets in the way of my writing. Honestly, writing and networking are all I can think about while I’m at my current 9 to 5. I might not feel that way if my 9 to 5 wasn’t so physically demanding, but it gives me almost no time to rest. I only have my breaks and lunch when I have more than a few minutes to sit down and take a breath.
What am I going to write next? Who am I going to reach out to? Which connections can I make today? When can I begin this new piece? Is this next band going to reply to my proposal?
I have in mind so many articles that I want to write, and most of them are long-form content pieces. If you aren’t a freelance writer, you might not know this, but long-form content articles are typically considered 1500 words or longer. And most of the articles that I write—I should say, the articles that are my favorites to write—are even longer, usually 2500 to 3000 words on average. I feel like I can really put all of the information I need to into those pieces and focus on facts and putting everything into my own words (words that people can understand easily about any situation).
Regardless of my situation, all I have to do is change my routine and I can change my situation, which can ultimately change my life. That’s my new motto, and it’s become something I’ve started to live by, knowing that all I need to do is change my routine, stick to my new schedule, and life will begin to turn in the direction that I want.
My goal before the end of the year is to write 100 articles. That is a lot, and as of this moment it is five articles per week. If I wasn’t working my current 9 to 5, that wouldn’t be difficult at all. But considering my situation, there is only so much I can do to work around it. But I am going to try. The thing is… I want to put out content, but I want to put out content that I’m proud of and proud to say that I wrote and proud to show people in my portfolio.
Am I going to hit my goal? I hope so, I really do. I like doing a lot of research on topics before I put out the articles I want, mostly because the articles I want to put out are all non-fiction, and most of them are not expository pieces. But I am going to try my best.
I also want to focus on my health and fitness again. The past three weeks, I have been slacking in that department, relying strictly on my physically demanding 9 to 5 to keep me feeling good. The problem is that it isn’t enough for my previously trained body. I’ve worked on my physical health for years, which is why I chose this current position at my 9 to 5, but just working that doesn’t seem to be enough to keep my body feeling physically well.
The new plan for my schedule—the new additions to my schedule for the upcoming weeks: find a way to add in three days of working out in my gym each week, find time to research the topics that I need in order to put out five articles per week, and keep in mind the types of articles I will be publishing.
The interesting part about that last point is that I won’t be putting out long-form articles about every non-fiction topic that I have in mind every week. I’ve got short-form cybersecurity content in mind and my interviews with artists that I will be turning into feature pieces. Granted, I plan to make those features long-form, but if a publication picks it up that wants it to be less than 1000 words, I will comply and adjust the articles from there.
I will make this last part of the year work out; everything will work out as intended, and I will make sure of it.
Reading Recommendations
I’ve recently been reading The Atlantic. Not only do I want to get into music journalism, but writing non-fiction is one of my favorites. The Atlantic is filled with such a broad range of non-fiction, and with each section comes entirely different types of writing styles and topics. I’ve been stuck reading mostly the technology and science sections. Clearly, this showcases my love of cyberspace, but science has always been close to me, specifically planetary science. I’ve watched too many planetary documentaries to name, and I’ve loved each of them.
A few articles I recommend:
Why Does AI Art Look Like That? - The Atlantic
Saturn’s Ocean Moon Was Hiding in Plain Sight - The Atlantic
What the Night Sky Would Look Like If the Other Planets Were as Close as the Moon - The Atlantic
Recent Finds Unrelated to Reading
I saw Dark Divine last month while they were on tour, and not only is this where I was super impressed by the band Atlas Below, but Dark Divine put on an excellent show. I enjoyed their music previously when they blew up on Tiktok a couple years ago, but they weren’t a band that I went out of my way to listen to.
But now, now, they played a song that I had never heard before called “Cold.”
Wow. Not only the lyrics but the way the lyrics are sung caught me. I already have an idea for my sixth book, and this song spoke to me. It spoke to my main character. This song is pivotal for my sixth book, and it is on my writing playlist for this book.