Writing...Just because!

The human body is an amazing machine and does what it has to do as we grow and change…or that’s what I keep telling myself as I go through “The change” which will ultimately lead to the “M” word (hallelujah...no more monthly visits from my "little friend")! Years ago no one talked about Menopause but today it seems to be all the rage. It’s not something a woman goes through alone anymore but is now an experience the whole family can enjoy! Since it’s been playing on my mind lately I decided that I would write an article for Suite 101 on the lighter side of “The Change.” I posted a note on a couple of the groups I’m part of requesting stories and experiences from a humorous point of view (these are writing groups so I thought I would get some great stuff). The silence was deafening. So far, I have received two comments to my post. The first one from a male group member who said he wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot pole (I asked for the husband/boyfriend/life...

Well, the last two days have been spent procrastinating. I've got lots to write but just couldn't get down to it. Then it dawned on me that I'm giving a workshop in two weeks called, "Don't Procrastinate...Produce," and it ironically occurred to me that I should put my own advice to good use. I was using every excuse in the book (and creating a few new ones for good measure). We had just gotten back from vacation so I certainly didn't need a rest - maybe a vacation from my vacation? The biggest reason I couldn't get at it was I just didn't "feel" like it. I guess it was just good old fashioned writer's block. Yeah, right! I sat and stared back and forth from the screen to the list of articles and blogs that were awaiting my attention. Then, bling! I couldn't help my eyes from straying to the bottom right of my computer screen to see who had just sent me an email or was trying to chat with me on FaceBook. Too many distra...

In my role as a freelance copy writer I am constantly reviewing and evaluating the rates I charge. I talk to other freelancers, I read advice on how to set your rates, I calculate how many hours I want to work and how much to charge hourly or per word in order to make a "decent" living (in a recent discussion on a LinkedIn group we talked about peanut butter verses caviar). It’s a real tight rope walk, especially if you’re an expat living overseas. I’m a Canadian living in Dubai . It’s tough to set rates when the range is as dramatically broad as there are myriad types of writing. When you’re based “globally” what is a fair market price? Do you set prices based on the US dollar (which is scary considering the direction it’s going) or the currency of the market in which you’re currently based? I’ve seriously contemplated having multiple rate sheets depending on the client’s location. That seems to me to be the best approach. Right now, being based in Dubai ,...

I am now officially a self-proclaimed social networking junkie. I’m on FaceBook (managing both my own personal page as well as a non-profit group for which I volunteer). I’m on Twitter, Linkedin, Plaxo, Classmates.com and more. I’m following more people on Twitter than I could ever truly keep up with, am a member of numerous “groups” on all of the above mentioned networks and could spend 24/7 just reading and chatting. I could go on but I’ll stop there since I’ve decided it’s time to pare down and only manage what I truly have time for and is fruitful in any way. So, the challenge becomes, how do you “separate the wheat from the chaf?” Fruitful can mean different things to different people. Sometimes little intriguing nuggets lead to bigger nuggets and you’re following link after link and spiralling down a dark tunnel of information overload with no end in sight. The first step is to define what “being fruitful” means to you. What is most important to yo...