Finding places to practice my writing craft has not been easy. Who, really, would think that a person my age would transition from a career in business to a career in writing? It's an insane notion in of itself.
I realize that I am taking in a chance. A graduate level liberal arts degree, even as a young person, typically results in a career as a bartender or barrista. Here I am, taking on tens of thousands of dollars of debt, with two decades of experience, working in a field that involved accounting. However, I have written my whole life. I figure that if I am going to go into debt for an education that will require that I work until I am well into my 70's, that the education should lead to a career doing something I actually enjoy...researching and writing..rather than just something that will pay me. I love history and culture. I enjoy the ability to communicate in the English language. I realize that there are challenges to finding a career that will allow me to indulge those passions, especially as an over 40 worker with no field experience.
Because I acknowledge the challenge, I started working as a volunteer early. I wanted to use my inexperience to the benefit of the greater good. Unfortunately, my personal views on religion preclude my involvement in many local charities in my current area. I can not very well spend my time writing grants for the Baptist food bank or the Salvation Army's shelter when those are organizations I abhor!
I've reached out to the coasts instead. Thanks to the internet, I've found organizations in New Jersey and in California that were happy to have a less experienced, but eager and dedicated, volunteer to research and write grants for them.
My next challenge will be to get published. I really need to get something published, not just for the reference, but because I need the self-esteem boost of know that what I write is actually relevant enough to gain the attention of editors. I live in fear that I am so out of touch and so out of style that no one will allow me to use my own experiences to help others. To that end, I have a laundry list of publications that accept freelance work. I am submitting to the people on the list, in the hopes that someday, someone will find what I write interesting and relevant. It should be interesting to see if I can gain the attention of a publisher, rather than limiting my "sharing" to Facebook, Google+ and Fark.com!
Thursday, January 3, 2013
It never ceases to amaze me that people who have known me for 30+ years will make the mistake of beginning an argument about my admittedly leftist political viewpoint without doing their homework first. I am perfectly willing to accept that some people are simply never going to agree with me. Some people are always going to hide behind their Bibles. Some people have obviously missed the news that dementia and Alzheimer's are accelerated by those who allow their brains to atrophy.
I do not simply research and study because I write and am working on my Master's degree. I read everyday, regardless of the quantity and quality of work I may be doing related to written sources. I also work on puzzles and submit ten or more pages of detailed editing to Project Gutenberg everyday. These activities are things I enjoy, yes. But they are also insurance. Just as exercising one's body is necessary to maintaining physical health, exercising the mind is necessary to one's intellectual health.
Moreover, in that I entertain myself by reading and exploring new research and technological advancements, I also make for a formidable foe in any debate. I DO admit to having a Google window open for quick fact checks and citations when I check my Google +, Facebook, and Twitter feeds. I will do a search to find a valid source to counter your "pulled out of the ass" argument. (I also admit that despite a major in English, that I am spell check dependent, and I often bounce to the new tab to spell check myself so that I do not type like an ignorant hick as often.)
Does this make me a controversial figure among my friends and family? Sometimes. I consider the posts largely a form of pubic service though. If I am not going to be the one to point out to my neighborhood sheriff, whom I went to high school with and I know for a fact was at best a C student then, that he may NOT be an expert on biology, physics, chemistry, or history, who will? I have seen misquotes of many books, from the Bible to "The Jungle" in the last year on Facebook. I always go to the source and correct the poster accordingly.
This is not an attempt to "one up" anyone, but rather an attempt to educate those who will believe anything that they hear or read, as long as it supports their already limited point of view. It is no longer just a campaign to save my fellow citizens from the international embarrassment of the American education system. It is no longer an effort to discredit the sound bite driven 24 hour news media. It is an effort to encourage people to think and question and expand their minds for fear that the "ignorance is bliss" mentality of my homeland in the South will lead to an epidemic of mental incompetence as our generation enters retirement age. After all, the last thing we need is an increase in the rate of dementia at the same time that Medicaid and Social Security benefits are on the budgetary chopping block!
I do not simply research and study because I write and am working on my Master's degree. I read everyday, regardless of the quantity and quality of work I may be doing related to written sources. I also work on puzzles and submit ten or more pages of detailed editing to Project Gutenberg everyday. These activities are things I enjoy, yes. But they are also insurance. Just as exercising one's body is necessary to maintaining physical health, exercising the mind is necessary to one's intellectual health.
Moreover, in that I entertain myself by reading and exploring new research and technological advancements, I also make for a formidable foe in any debate. I DO admit to having a Google window open for quick fact checks and citations when I check my Google +, Facebook, and Twitter feeds. I will do a search to find a valid source to counter your "pulled out of the ass" argument. (I also admit that despite a major in English, that I am spell check dependent, and I often bounce to the new tab to spell check myself so that I do not type like an ignorant hick as often.)
Does this make me a controversial figure among my friends and family? Sometimes. I consider the posts largely a form of pubic service though. If I am not going to be the one to point out to my neighborhood sheriff, whom I went to high school with and I know for a fact was at best a C student then, that he may NOT be an expert on biology, physics, chemistry, or history, who will? I have seen misquotes of many books, from the Bible to "The Jungle" in the last year on Facebook. I always go to the source and correct the poster accordingly.
This is not an attempt to "one up" anyone, but rather an attempt to educate those who will believe anything that they hear or read, as long as it supports their already limited point of view. It is no longer just a campaign to save my fellow citizens from the international embarrassment of the American education system. It is no longer an effort to discredit the sound bite driven 24 hour news media. It is an effort to encourage people to think and question and expand their minds for fear that the "ignorance is bliss" mentality of my homeland in the South will lead to an epidemic of mental incompetence as our generation enters retirement age. After all, the last thing we need is an increase in the rate of dementia at the same time that Medicaid and Social Security benefits are on the budgetary chopping block!
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