WritingThoughts

My friends and family, while supportive of my writing business, don’t get very involved in my writing at all. Once in a while they will stop by one of my blogs, but they never comment and rarely wish to discuss anything that I write about.

When I first started posting content online, my kids were avid readers. Despite the fact that I’d worked as a technical writer for years they seemed genuinely surprised that I could write short articles.

“This stuff is good.” My one daughter said.

“Yeah, it’s almost too good to be online.” My other daughter answered.

However, as the novelty wore off, they have lost interest in what I write.

My close friends are the same. I can drag them to a computer monitor and show them one of my blogs, but they typically have nothing to say other than, “that’s nice.” I can tell by the look in their eyes that they probably won’t be reading it again.

Sometimes it makes me wonder how I can be so close to people that have no interest in something that I spend so much time doing and put so much of myself into.

However, I guess that’s why I have you, the readers.

Which bring me to my question of the day: is your family involved in your writing? If so, how?

(If not, leave me a comment too so at least I’ll feel like I’m not the only one with an indifferent family.)

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

We’re in the midst of the back-to-school rush because my kids go back to school next week, how about you?

What the back to school rush means for us is:

• A giant shopping trip. We have to buy everything from new clothes to backpacks to pencils and paper. Fortunately, this coming weekend is tax-free weekend in my state.
• Rescheduling. While I’m not one to let kids sleep all day, my kids will definitely have to get up earlier next week when school starts. We are trying to get them up earlier each day this week to prepare them for it.
• Homework. My kids’ school is part of the growing trend that gives kids homework over the summer. Although the kids did work on the homework during the summer, they are wrapping things up and making sure that they met all the requirements.

What does the back-to-school rush mean for you? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

I found this week’s “Of Note” blog through a comment made on the WAHMs Who Write forum at www.wahm.com. The ChrisBlogging blog is a freelance writer’s blog with a focus on writing and blogging. As Chris says in the about statement: “Freelance writing and blogging go together hand in hand.”

I have to admit that I’m a relatively new reader of the ChrisBlogging blog. What impressed me almost immediately is Chris’s ability to produce relevant posts on an almost daily basis.

Posts that I particularly like this week included:

• How to Leverage your Existing Clients into more work
• Repeat Work: The Lifeblood of a Freelance Writer
• Rich Twin Poor Twin Interview

Chris is even running a contest to give away a free book. You’ve got to love bloggers that run contests!

If you’re serious about blogging, or about freelance writing, or both — then you’ll want to check out ChrisBlogging.

Note: If you’re consistently posting great information and haven’t seen your blog featured in Of Note yet, I apologize. I’ll probably find you soon. I know there are a lot of great blogs out there; I discover more new ones each day. (So many blogs, so little time.)

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Earlier I posted on whether or not teenagers should work.

Recently, I’ve gotten caught up in an interesting discussion on the CareerandKids blog. The blogger there reported on a forum about kids who are having trouble getting jobs.

My comment there was that my daughter was offered several jobs after only a handful of interviews.

One of the commentators on CareerandKids suggested that I post tips about what we did to help her find a job, so that is what I am doing today.

First, a few disclaimers.

• Disclaimer number one. We live in a rather large metropolitan area. I really do think that makes a difference. If you live in a small town with only one or two businesses that hire teenagers, you may not have the same experience.
• Disclaimer number two. I’m not talking about helping my daughter find her first career job here. This is about a job for a teenager who wants some extra spending money.

With the disclaimers out of the way, here are the methods we used to help our daughter find a job:

1. Professional appearance. Even it’s a job in fast food (which is where my daughter got hired) it’s important to look professional when you go in to apply. If the teen has piercings in unusual places (my daughter doesn’t) remove the jewelry while the teen is applying for work. If the teen has tattoos (my daughter doesn’t), cover them. Have the teen wear conservative clothing — that means no shorts, revealing clothing, or torn or dirty clothing.
2. Flexibility of Schedule. I think too many teens come in wanting the employer to accommodate their social life and any extra-curricular activities they might have. Most employers won’t do this. If a teen has one activity, an employer may be willing to work around it. But, they surely like teens who call off from work because they have a date. We stressed that working was an important commitment and that her employer was counting on her.
3. Practice the application process. Before my daughter even filled out her first application, we had her fill out practice applications (you can find these online and print them off). We also did a practice interview with her where we asked her questions that we thought an employer might ask. If we thought her answer was incomplete, we suggested a better way to answer the question.
4. Respect. We really stressed that our daughter show respect for any potential employers. We even went to the extent of suggesting that she use “sir” or “ma’am.” She had to thank her interviewer for taking the time to talk with her. We live in a society where respect and courtesy are becoming less and less common. One way to help your child stand out is if they are polite.

What if your child still can’t find work? Well, you can always try the creative approach. Many teens start their own businesses mowing lawns, babysitting, or running errands. I found this article on one creative teen who earns money from blogging very interesting.

What do you think? Do you have a teen who works? Have they had trouble getting a job? Leave a comment and let me know.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

There is no “Y” in writing you might say. It’s spelled W-R-I-T-I-N-G.

But the “Y” in the alphabet is not what I’m really talking about. I’m really talking about the “why,” W-H-Y, in writing.

The reason that I’m bringing it up is because I think it might be part of what makes me a writer.

My husband and I were talking about a recent news event. He heard the news and was completely satisfied with the news reporter’s summary of the events. For me, however, the news report wasn’t enough.

I had all kinds of questions about the event. Questions like:

• WHY did it happen?
• WHY did the people involved react the way that they did?
• WHY doesn’t someone do something about it?

Unlike my husband, I wasn’t really going to be satisfied with the news report until all of these questions were answered.

I’ve been this way ever since I can remember. I was blessed to have parents who looked at my many questions as a sign of intelligence and not as a nuisance.

I think my constant questions and need to understand might actually be part of why I am a writer. My husband, who lacks the “WHY” characteristic, has specialized knowledge in many areas. I’ve often encouraged him to blog about those areas, but he has absolutely no interest in writing. I think his lack of interest is due to the missing “WHY” factor.

I know that I’ve discussed what makes a writer on this blog before, but I’m curious about the “WHY” factor.

Since a lot of my readers are also writers, let me ask you about it. Do you have the “WHY” factor and if so, does it help or drive your writing? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

A few days ago on the blog that I write for Know More Media, Work From Home Momma, I posted about the importance of delegating chores in order to get all the housework done.

I think that one of the biggest stressors to face working moms is the attitude of trying to wear two hats full-time –  the homemaker hat and the worker hat.

I thought I’d throw the housework question out to my readers here at WritingThoughts.

How do you handle housework with deadlines looming? Do you do everything yourself or do you assign tasks to others in your family? Leave a comment and let me know.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Sorry guys! This one is just for the girls.

Angela over at Domestic Divapalooza recently awarded me the Rocking Girl Blogger Award.  (Thank-you Angela!) As you can see, it’s a cute pink button that I can put with my Thinking Blogger Award.

The best part of the Rocking Girl Blogger award is that I get to pick new recipients for the award. Here are my picks my last ten girl commentators:

• Lillie at A Writer’s Words, An Editor’s Eye 
• Jeanne at Writers Notes
• Mary Emma at Home Biz Notes
• Tammi at Drawing on Words
• Mihaela at Pamil Visions
• Sharon at Get Paid to Write Online
• Randa at Randa Clay Design
• Yvonne at Grow Your Writing Business
• Vivienne at Versa
• ?? at Two Write Hands

Enjoy the bling!!

The legacy that I am leaving to my daughters is something that has been on my mind a lot recently. Unlike when I was in the corporate world, now they see what I do every day. I remember when I was growing up I was never allowed to go to work with my dad. Now my kids are at work “with” me every day.

I’m really excited that the possibilities for working at home have expanded so much just in my own lifetime. I don’t just mean blogging either, I mean all kinds of opportunities. I can remember, not so long ago, when working at home was almost unheard of except in a few rare instances.

How do you think working at home has impacted your kids? Do you think it has a positive impact or a negative impact? Do you see it as part of the legacy you leave your kids?

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Last week Vivienne asked if there were rules for creative folks. (A question originally asked by Marc Rapp at Uniquely the Epitome.) Vivienne specifically tagged me to answer the question.

I delayed answering for a couple of reasons.

• First of all, I had a ton of deadlines last week. (That’s a really good thing.)
• Secondly, I have never really considered myself creative or artistic. (Skilled — maybe, clever — maybe, but, in my mind, “creative” has always been reserved for those with exceptional ability.)

With those points in mind, I’ll do my best to answer Vivienne’s question.

The sentence that really caught my eye in her original post was this one:

“Most creative folks get quite upset with clients who provide a long list of do’s and don’ts and yet expect them to break out of the norm to create something original and really creative.”

My gut reaction was that my customers pay me and I’m going to do my best to meet their requirements.

As I thought about it a little more I realized that there are definitely some times when project requirements should be ignored:

1. When the requirement results in something immoral
2. When the requirement results in something illegal
3. When the requirement is so stupid that it will cast a bad light on both the client and you

A skill that all creative folk should cultivate is the ability to help a client discover the needs that they don’t know that they have. By this I mean that most clients do think they know what they need. However, their perception of what they need may not always be accurate.

As a skilled professional it is your responsibility to politely, but persuasively, address the client’s true needs, not just the need that he or she thinks that they have. Most businesses will be grateful that you made the extra effort.

Of course, there are always those businesses that will persist in asking you to do one or more of the three things I listed above. In those cases, that is probably not a business that you want to have as a client. (One of the great things about being an independent contractor is that you can turn projects down.)

I’m not going to tag anyone in particular to answer this question. Instead, I’m going to throw it out to all my readers: What do you think? Should there be rules for creative folk?

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

For the blog “Of Note” this week I’ve chosen to feature Matt Ambrose’s The Copywriter’s Crucible. Matt provides informative and helpful posts on a weekly basis.

His philosophy is summed up in his recent article, Articles or Blog Posts? It’s Quality that Counts. In the article Matt argues in favor of providing well written and thought through content. In other words, it’s better to post one quality article than many shallow ones.

The philosophy seems to be working well for Matt. This week he was a guest writer on the high profile Empower Women site. In his guest post there Matt explains how he was able to get his blog, The Copywriter’s Crucible, on page one of the search engine results with only one post a week.

Matt makes an important point that may be a relief to bloggers and writers who are struggling to fill their blog pages five days a week. You’ll want to read all of his quality posts.

Last week Of Note focused on The Copywriting Maven.

Note: If you’re consistently posting great information and haven’t seen your blog featured in Of Note yet, I apologize. I’ll probably find you soon. I know there are a lot of great blogs out there; I discover more new ones each day. (So many blogs, so little time.)

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.