Experience, discouragement, other pursuits

It's not going well!

I'd feel a lot better about approaching clients if I had some real, industry experience under my belt. The main guy I've been taking advice from online isn't particularly helpful in this sense, because in his client pitches, he gives social evidence that he has years of practical blogging experience under his belt, millions of readers, articles in the Huffington post etc.

As it stands, I can word great (c~Mandopony 2015), but I'm having trouble coming up with a convincing pitch for clients when I'm not myself convinced that I could be much help to them. It's the beginner's mindset, I know, and I just need to find some way to work past it.

I mentioned in one of my latest podcast recordings (release coming soon!) that I have trouble working towards long-term goals. I prefer to have results in the here and now. It's why I release my stories bit-by-bit online, rather than waiting until I've completely written them. I want to show people that I'm doing something, hear their feedback and comments right now.

In terms of turning my writing into a business, I want to see a paycheck here and now! I don't want to have to spend years building up a massive online presence before I can start earning reasonable money. I just want someone to say, "Hey, I like your work, I'll pay you to write/edit this story/article/blog post for me." That little bit of motivation - the knowledge that someone wants and needs my services - might be enough to get me off my bum and start reaching out to other clients.

Ah well, I'm going to keep reading and look for advice on how to break out of this beginner's mindset (without waiting for the aforementioned stroke of luck).


In other news, I've started thinking up lots of 'get rich quick' schemes, ranging from clay sculpting to wooden sword design to designing video games. This is either my head desperately trying to distract from the issue at hand, or telling me that I should be trying lots of different things. Hard to figure out which...

I'm giving the clay sculpting thing a go, starting with some basic Minecraft figures and (of course) a pony or two. Drawing on my experience as a newbie artist, the shapes and sizes are easy enough to get my head around, and forming the clay isn't so difficult. I imagine that the painting is going to be the tricky bit. I'll post an update when I finish the first batch, along with some pictures if I'm not too ashamed to show them off!

Strictly Business

Now that I've got myself a part-time job to pay the rent - thank goodness - I've been able to focus a little better on developing my writing business. Oh, and I've started referring to it as a business, because at the end of the day, that's what it needs to be.

From what I've gathered, freelance writing is just as much marketing as it is actual writing. I need to learn how to sell my stories, articles and services. Which I kind of knew in the first place, though I've been avoiding having to accept it. It's something I'm unfamiliar with, know nothing about. It's sketchy territory.

But it's the next step on the ladder.

So, as I see it, I can either tackle the problem now, or I can wait around for an opportunity to present itself. Since the likelihood of that happening is pretty slim - and I can't stand sitting around doing nothing for long without going stir crazy - I think my choice is pretty clear.

Thankfully, the internet has no shortage of guides and tutorials to help a newbie out. I've been reading blogs like 'Make a living writing' and 'Writer's Living', which are full of helpful tips for selling your writing. And today, I'm starting to put some of those ideas into practise.

If it's like everything else I've been involved in over the past years, practise, feedback and more practise are the keys to success.

I'll keep you posted as to how it goes.

Selling stories

An article I read today on Lifehacker.com got me thinking about my stories again - my novel-length stories, that is. The author suggested that it was very possible to make a living through writing novels and selling them online, something that I haven't really considered in a long time. After 'Icarus, Episode One' never really took off, I guess my hope and drive for that platform took a big hit.

I had only just left college when I wrote that first novel. I'd never had a job, a social life, a romance, or any real life experience beyond the confines of college itself. Writing a whole novel was an achievement in itself. But when it came to editing, advertising and selling it, I hadn't the first idea where to start.

Now, after years of practising and developing my craft, and my voice, I'm in a much better position to actually sell something. So the platform I'd previously written off as 'no good' could actually become quite viable now. I mean, it obviously worked for the guy who wrote the article, so I know it can work for me, if I put my mind to it.

There are a number of stories I have rolling around in my head, including Icarus itself. I'm going to have a brainstorm today about continuing that narrative, maybe coming up with a proper synopsis for Episode Two.

I'm not saying that I'm suddenly going to devote all my time to writing and selling novel-length stories online. I still want to explore other aspects of professional writing (e.g. blogging). But if it's something that I can actually get into doing regularly, then by all counts, I could have a short novel ready to go every three months or so.

Something to think about.

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Do you buy books on the Amazon Kindle store? Better yet, do you sell them yourself? Let me know on Facebook or in the comments section!

New Fimfiction blog

I've started up a new, more focused blog. Huzzah!

Fimficwriter is a blog dedicated to talking about all aspects of 'Fimfiction', which is fanfiction set in the Friendship is Magic universe. Rather than 'just talking about whatever', as I'm doing here, the new blog will have specific articles - giving advice for writing fanfiction, discussing certain aspects of the world and characters, and showcasing inspiring stories or hidden gems.

I've been trying to start up a focused blog since I started with the whole idea, so I'm hoping that this will take off as something I can write regular updates for. God knows, I'm very passionate and have plenty to talk about when it comes to Fimfiction.

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Interested in the new blog? Click here to check out "fimficwriter.wordpress.com"!

End of May update

Just a status update to let everyone know how I'm doing. I'm still looking for work, though I've found that it's getting easier and more manageable as I keep doing it. I've been applying for all kinds of receptionist, administration or data entry jobs – anything back of house – and I'm quite confident that I'll get one soonish.

Obviously that's not all I've got going on though. Fourteen hours in a day is a lot of time, even if half of that is spent on the job-hunt.

Singing Lessons

I'm told that I need them, haha! As per the last post, I've been playing music with some friends recently, and the general consensus seems to be that my guitar's not bad, but my singing REALLY is. I usually attribute it to nerves when playing around people, but I haven't recorded myself playing so I don't really know what I sound like yet. It's a safe bet that my mates are being honest though (and probably a bit gentle, haha).

That's something that never really occured to me until it was pointed out – learning how to sing. However, if I'm going to harmonise with this music thing, I'll need to learn to do the same with the notes, so to speak. So I'm going to start checking out tutorials online, download some karaoke programs (sorry, family!) and get practising a little every day, just like with guitar. Same as anything, it'll only take practise.

Video Game Blog

Right now I'm spending a lot of my time job-hunting, but I'm still thinking about and working on my blogging, slowly. Namely, I've been trying to come up with a unique or interesting idea for a video gaming blog. I thought up a couple of ideas while brainstorming the other day, one which would revolve around reviewing indie games on the Steam sales (not so unique, but interesting), and another which would centre on me talking about scenarios within games.

The second idea is sounding most promising right now, as I've very rarely seen something like that out there. I'd essentially pick an interesting battle/scenario/scene that really grabbed me within the game, then talk it through from my character's point-of-view – like an adventurer's journal type thing. I had a practise with a game I'm playing casually at the minute, and it's pretty fun, which means better writing, which means more interesting material.

I'll see what I can do about starting it up when I get some more time to spend gaming again. I can already think of several games which would make for a tonne of interesting material. Just need to come up with a decent name for it...

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Any ideas for a name for a video game adventure journal? Or games you'd want to see covered? Hit me up in the comments or on Facebook!

Musical Pursuits

I've been playing a lot of guitar lately. And singing. Weird, because I never pictured myself doing either of those things until very recently. And now I'm actually getting pretty good at it.

Nothing close to some of the other guys I've met, mind you. At least ALL of the people who play on Sunday (at the Nelson Open Mic night) are way better than me. But even still, I'm getting more and more confident in my playing and signing, to the point where I actually broke out my guitar in the middle of the Abbey Grounds the other day.

...Okay, it wasn't the middle - it was a secluded bench by the river, and it was kind of late so there weren't many people around. But there were people. Complete strangers, just out for a walk, with partners, dogs or alone, or sitting on benches nearby. I have to admit that I was a bit shaky, as I'd never played in front of anyone before. But I didn't choke, didn't mess up any more than usual. I just played, like usual.

It felt pretty exhilarating.

To that end, I'm making the time to work harder than ever on practising guitar. If all goes well, it shouldn't be too long before I work up the nerve to bring my guitar into the Nelson to play.

...Just as soon as I nail this stupid F chord.

Rant! Looking for the right part-time job...

I have been pretty quiet over the past couple of weeks, which is no good! Got to get into a better routine if I want to really get this blog going. I've been having trouble thinking of things to write about here, which is the main reason behind not updating.

Other reasons include procrastination, other writing and work worries.

The Issue

I'm studying full-time at college, so I don't have any income at the minute. I've gotten through my maintenance grant paying rent, and Canada majorly ate into my personal savings, so things are getting tight. Therefore, I'm looking for some part-time work to tide me over and pay the rent while I work on my writing. I think getting a job will actually be good for my focus too, as long as it's something I can get my head into while I'm there.

For example, when I used to work at the local pub (doing pretty much anything that came up), having that separate focus really helped me appreciate my writing time when I had it. But conversely, working at the much busier Giraffe restaurant stressed me out to the point where writing (among other things) became all but impossible. So I need to get something that meshes properly with the environment I want to be in.

Going Administrative

That's why I'm trying to get into something in administration. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a pretty quiet guy... but I can get pretty vocal about 'serving people'. Most of the general public are reasonably amicable people, don't get me wrong, it just doesn't fit with my personality. I've got no problem taking orders from my official superiors, but anyone else will just rile me up (in the bad way).

I'm much more comfortable working behind the scenes, in a quiet environment and among a small team, where I'm my own boss. Or at least, where I have ONE boss, and don't have to answer to average Joe. Whether admin will work for that or not remains to be seen, but like I say, it's better to know than be forever guessing. And better to know sooner than later.

That's going to become a bit of a mantra, I think.

Anyway, #rantover, haha! Finally got something updated, which is excellent. Now I just need to keep it up.

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Anyone in the same mind as me as to hospitality work? Or any advice for a guy in my position? Let me know in the comments section or on Facebook. Cheers!