Writing Success

I am hitting a mental block again for writing. It is a frustrating path I am embarking on. Trying to become somewhat successful at writing articles that are pithy or meaningful. I find myself at a stopping point.

My friends who are writers have blogs with hundreds of people following them. Their posts are funny and engaging. I need to get over that hurdle. I am having some success with my online gig. If you are visiting my blog, take a look at the links of stories next to my posts. The more clicks, the more known I become. That is the thought I hope!

I hope my assignments keep coming in and this block will soon go away. It is a double edge sword. You can't get paid of you don't write and with my block I can't get paid. Being a freelancer well....what am I getting myself into?

Having a great time

I have been really enjoying freelance writing the more I explore. I have met some wonderful people along the way and learned more (maybe more than I care to) about writing for websites and hard copy magazines.

I have successfully landed a gig with a local magazine and could not be more thrilled. I am hoping this will lead to more jobs with magazines, papers and online. I have received great feedback from many people along with great leads to expand my horizons.

Blogging is still  challenging for me. I want to write something each day and for it to be important to capture someone's attention to follow my blog. But there are days there is just not much to say. Today is one of those days.

With my full-time job and volunteering I feel overwhelmed. However, I don't want to stop while my momentum is picking up.

Thrilled with success!

Bicycle enthusiast Sam Nicholson, a resident of Friends Village retirement community in Newtown Township, is no different from many people who love the hobby as a simple form of relaxation and exercise. But Sam is unique in that, at 86 years of age, he still races competitively on his bike. This month, Sam plans on competing in the New Jersey Senior Olympics in Woodbridge, NJ.......

http://www.timespub.com/ngazette-cg.html

Triumph

Today I ran my first triathlon. I had all intentions of training to make it through without injury and finish in a decent time. However life doesn’t always work out the way we’d like it to.


Four a.m. I was on the road, pitch black without a car in sight. It is a serene time in the morning, nothing but your own thoughts. Sometimes your thoughts can get into your head a bit too much and create crazy feelings. Today however the thoughts were more of excitement.

I resolved to myself I would finish the race in about three hours. My training had been lackluster at best. Arriving at the beach with hundreds of other women made all my fears go away. That is one of the wonderful things about athletic events. Everyone is willing to help and give whatever advice you may need.

It didn’t matter who I asked, they would give me advice that was helpful. I found several friends that were doing the triathlon also. I began this journey as a self-exploration. Pushing myself doing marathons had helped me reach feelings deep inside. I was blessed with dozens of other women I knew signed up for the same triathlon.

Walking to the starting line the wind started to pick up a bit. With the clouds overhead the air was crisp and cold, not your typical September morning. While waiting my fingers, toes and lips started turning blue. I thought what had I gotten myself into.

When my wave was about to start I stepped into the ocean. This was my biggest fear. I am not an open water swimmer, and have trouble even walking into the water. With so many women supporting me the thought of getting into the ocean didn’t cross my mind.

I started to swim and realized the panic of other swimmers around me was a bit too much. I slowed as to not get kicked and slapped by others. The swim cannot be described. It was both more difficult and easier than I had expected. When I got out of the ocean and started to T1, the perseverance of what I was accomplishing started to become a realization.

Crazy things happen you may not realize. I went to put my shoes on, but my feet had swelled making them difficult to get onto my feet. Once I had dressed it was off to biking. The biking was for me like a Sunday morning ride. I was not here for the competition, but the thrill of the finish.

I finished biking and off to the 5K run. Running the course I was motivated by seeing women in their 70’s continue with determination. Knowing they had started the race well before me but kept pushing forward inspired me. Where I thought I would be walking I kept running.

I crossed the finish line sprinting to victory, in under two hours. I was thrilled with my time. The slowest out of my friends, but for me it was success. I overcame my fear, and went on to complete my first triathlon. It was triumphant.

Reflection

On a day like today it is hard to write about anything except September 11th. A day where we remember where we were when the first tower hit, who we were with, the shock, the silence.

At the time I lived ten minutes as the crow flies from New York City. I was pregnant with my second child and watching the morning news. My husband was just about to leave for a meeting in CT. We were watching the first tower up in flames when the second plane started to circle. The TV went blank.

In horror we flipped the channels to try and figure what was happening. As the information was slowly being released the shock and horror was growing in the community. I took my two year old son outside to play and the silence was deafening. I wouldn't let my husband or my son leave my side for two days. I couldn't think of not being able to reach out and touch them, knowing they were safe and close.

Being pregnant with my daughter brought panic to the future. What kind of world would we live in? Would she be safe? Would the family be safe? I was terrified and never admitted it to a sole, until today.

Still years later I tear up when talking about it. My son and daughter still not quite grasping the tragedy asking questions. It is an awful day that America together rose from tragedy to show we will stay united, together and triumph.

Come follow me and stay awhile

This is my second Blog I have started. Gaining a following is an entirely different challenge. For me it is a great outlet to read, and see where I was a month ago or a year ago and the progress I made.

Over the weekend I spoke to several people who follow many Blogs and if the person did not update it daily they would get angry. So here is my quandry, figuring out how to keep people engaged and want to read what I am doing and gain followers. You can invite people to come, but getting them to stay....

It reminds me of holding a party. There are people that hold a party and you want to attend and look forward to it every year. They have that 'something' that attracts people.

I am new to this, finding my hook to get people to not only follow but stay. The new freelancer is always looking for suggestions. (that is me by the way!)

Success!

I have been having decent success with Helium and Wikinut. Pleasantly surprised when the second month came to a close. I can see this slowly building to a nice small income.

I have started on a new site Red Gage. http://www.redgage.com/links/scarlet/ while I am not the best photographer, I thought it would be something different to give a go.

The other great part is I have landed a gig with a local magazine. While the pay isn't great, it is a start. Slowly but surely it is adding up and making me feel like a true writer.