Melinda Musil dot Com

Posts Tagged ‘writing’

I do a lot of freelance writing, and almost everything I know about freelancing and writing is self taught.  Sometimes I think about training myself to write grants- there are a lot of people who will pay good money to have someone else write quality business grants for them.  Or, shoot, I could write business grants for myself and use those to fund my business adventures.  But it’s hard and a lot of work to break into another branch of writing.  I am sure that it could be a valuable asset to my portfolio but writing business grants is a challenge!

Wow, what a day!

I started my morning out with a half day at the alternative school.  It was fine.  There’s not a whole lot to say about that… the kids were crazy, as alternative school kids are apt to be, but it was fine.  I had one girl who was pregnant and one boy with a really bad mullet. (Seriously, will that hairstyle never die?)  No surprises.

This afternoon, I had a doctor’s appointment.  Those of you who follow me on Twitter already know about that- I sat in the waiting room and twittered.  It was not an appointment regarding the nose- this was a standard “checking in” appointment.  I have those every six months due to my prior car accident.  I started blogging about it here, and after my twitter conversations today, I am thinking I will probably pick up the story again soon.

That appointment was in Overland Park, Kansas, a good hour’s drive from home.  Lots of doctors are over there- I think the cost of malpractice insurance is cheaper in Kansas.  Good for my car’s gas mileage- lots of highway driving to get there.  Anyway on the way home from the doctor’s office, I drive past the school where my mother teaches.  So as usual, today I stopped by to say hello.  I don’t get to visit her school very often anymore since I don’t go to that side of town very often.

When I left my mom’s school, I happened to pick up my Blackberry and check my email.  I received a response to a question I had asked about a contract job that was offered to me.  It was a very, very good response, with information that was far better than I had expected.  Basically what I was told was that, in this position, I have the earning potential of between $40-$400 per week, and will most likely earn $100-$150 per week.  Those numbers are MUCH better than I had expected, and I am very glad to learn this!  Of course, to earn my “maximum potential” (which in all likelihood will not be $400 a week, but whatever is earning as much as possible per week) it will be a lot of work.  But, at the same time, I’m glad to get this job, to get my foot in the door, and hopefully to start down this path that will lead to better jobs!

I am also waiting, somewhat anxiously, on a response to an email I sent to a couple of my favorite principals at my favorite school.  I emailed these people (a lead principal and two vice principals) and told them that I was thinking about applying for a full time job next year, and did they expect to have openings in their building next year.  I think I want to do that, although I must admit that I’m very nervous about the prospect of returning to education.  Getting this freelance information today also makes me wonder (again!) if this is what God wants me to do.  I hate not having the answers.

I also talked with a friend from college today.  We only sort of keep in touch- mostly through Facebook and that’s about it.  She was telling me about a grant that would pay the full cost of a master’s degree in education if I wanted to teach in math, science, special ed, or reading specialty programs.  Once again, this is tempting… getting a master’s degree for free just might be the best possible way to get a masters!

I certainly don’t have any answers about what my future holds, but I will most likely fill out a job application with the school district.  An application isn’t a commitment, and it’s all a moot point if they don’t offer me a job.  But I still hate the not knowing.

I got a call this morning at around 6:30 asking me to sub in one of the elementary schools.  I accepted the job, but not five minutes later I got another call from the substitute gal telling me that the job had been accepted by someone else just before she got to it, so I wouldn’t be needed after all.

Since I was awake, though, I went ahead and got out of bed.  Sub gal promised that if another job came up, it would go to me, so I went ahead and put on my nice, dressy “teacher” clothes.  Then I spent my morning surfing the internet, catching up on email, and generally relaxing and enjoying life.  Finally, at around 1pm, I decided I probably wouldn’t be called today and changed into a pair of jeans and a tshirt.

Otherwise my day was delightfully slow.  I wrote some ads and made a dent in my feedreader.  I got a response from the lady who contacted me about some possible content writing work- that is looking like such a fantastically legit opportunity, and I’m really excited to see where that leads.  Basically the future looks bright today.  God has been really reassuring me that I’m on the right path, so I’m very excited about… everything!

I’m stepping out into content writing… you know, those silly little blocks of text that you see around the internet.  For me, that meant putting an ad on Craigslist a few days ago.

I got one response from it- a woman associated with internetbrands.com and several related websites.  She asked me if I would be interested in an upcoming project and would I please write three sample articles for her.  Being a little crazy and wanting to try this out, I spent a good portion of my evening writing these three sample articles, composing an email to her, and attaching the articles to that email.

She seems legit… I certainly hope so, otherwise she just got three free articles!  But assuming she is legit, I am also hoping that this will open some doors for me.  Honestly, content writing is not my favorite type of writing out there… it is easy but it is NOT challenging at all!  However, it is a fairly easy way to supplement my income while I’m figuring out the rest of my life, it doesn’t take long, and I would really like to be able to develop this as a reliable source of income.

So I’ve been pondering my book lately.

I have this story in my head for a book. Putting it down on paper, though, has taken a backseat to everything else in my life- websites, teaching, paying the bills, that kind of thing.

I think I’ve come to a point, though, where I might be able to work on it again. I need to outline it… And then… Who knows?

Not much going on today.  Yesterday I subbed at both a high school and a middle school.  In the morning, I subbed for a sped teacher at one of the high schools… it was an okay job, but I don’t know if I want to do that again.  I had a 45 minute break before I had to get to the middle school.  So I stopped at McD’s for lunch on my way over there.  In the afternoon, I taught junior high art, which was lots of fun- I’d forgot how much fun art class is!

On Monday I’m scheduled to sub for a fifth grade class.  Should be fun, it’s a great school.

Today I went to the library and the dollar store.  I went to the pool, intending to swim, but they were having a swim meet today so I was not able to swim.

In the spirit of Nanowrimo, I have been procrastinating on my story.  But, today is the official start of Nanowrimo, so when I finish this post I will (hopefully!) go work on my story.  When I’m done procrastinating, of course.

Wow.  The past couple of days have been CRAZY busy subbing!

Yesterday I was at one of the middle schools.  Not a bad day… sixth grade social studies.  Most of the classes were pretty good… emphasis on “most”!

Today I was at one of the high schools.  This was a FANTASTIC day… advanced high school English classes, so the students were already well behaved, and the lesson was an easy one.  PLUS I got out early because of the strange schedule.  Definitely a good day!

When I came home I had a whole bunch of requests for this middle school I’ve worked at.  At this school, they tell me OVER and OVER what a great sub I am, and how much they love me, and how glad they are that they have a good sub, and so on.  I find this totally strange… I don’t think I’m an outstanding sub.  Sure, I’m good at some things, but I am FAR from perfect.  I go into a classroom, find the instructions that were left for me, along with any other lesson plans, and spend a half hour or so before class starts reading the instructions and making sure I understand what I am going to do.  If I have any questions, I ask at the office.  I locate classrooms nearby (next door or across the hall) and introduce myself to the teachers in those rooms.  Then I follow the directions as closely as I can.  To me, that’s just going in and doing my job.  But apparently they are really pleased with that, because they keep asking me to come back.

They are not the only school that has requested me.  Amazingly, I have been requested at so many schools that I am almost booked SOLID for the next two weeks, and at this rate I will have no trouble getting jobs after that.  I feel a little bit crazy, just because I am so busy now- early to bed, teaching in the daytime, attempting to read blogs and write posts in the evening, and early to bed so I’ll have the energy to teach on the next day.  Oh, and hopefully I can resume swimming soon, now that I’m starting to feel better.  I’m also feeling a bit flush- at $85/day (soon to be $90/day), my paychecks should be VERY nice.

Two nights ago, I remembered- Nanowrimo starts on Saturday!  I’ve “wrimo’ed” books before, but I’ve never participated in the “official” Nanowrimo program.  But I’ve always wanted to, and it’s always a great time to wrimo a novel.  So, because I don’t have enough on my plate (HA!), I am going to write a novel next month.

How I’m going to do this, I don’t know.  I don’t know how I’ll find the time for it.  But I’m going to do it- so this is defnitely going to be an adventure!

Obviously I have a blog.

Perhaps less obviously, I am a writer.  I’m working on a writing a book which (I hope!) will be published.  My perpetual problem – at least, one of them – is that I am a very dysfunctional writer with a short attention span.  I start one book, get distracted, and start writing a different book.  The cycle continues, so I now have many different bits and pieces of books, but not one complete book.

Anyway, here’s my other thought, and the one that prompted me to write this post.  One of the many problems of being a writer is maintaining a copyright.  I’m not sure if I want to discuss my stories or ideas on this site, for fear of an idea being stolen.

Here’s a crash course in copyrights, particularly when it comes to writing: First and foremost, you cannot copyright an idea.  You can only copyright the actual text of your book.  However, any text written (by you or me) is automatically copyrighted in your name.  (You can send away for a more “official” copyright, which is particularly useful if you ever have to defend your copyright in court.)  So, if I write on this blog that, let’s say, I have an idea to write a book about two lovers whose families oppose their relationship (Romeo and Juliet), it would not be illegal for you to write and publish a book about that.  However, I could be hurt if your book comes out before mine, and my story is no longer fresh and new.  Does that make sense?

So I am just not sure if I should share those thoughts with you or not.  And it’s frustrating, because I can’t decide what to think or say or write sometimes.  There are many words and many choices.  Arghhhh….

I had to go to Office Max the other day to buy another year’s worth of writing utensils.  I always stock up on pens and pencils during this “back to school” time, when they are incredibly cheap.  I love the Bic stick pens.  They write the first time every time, and I can usually get them CHEAP, especially around this time.  I’ve gotten them as low as 12 pens for six cents!  That’s a price you just can’t beat.

I was thinking yesterday about what a great exercise it would be to write stories from titles… take some random words, put them together, and write a story to fit the title.  Like… “Faster, Better Stronger”.. of “Stolen Innocence”… or “Surefire Saint“.

See, I used to be a high school English teacher.  I quit because I was working with such a horrible administration, and as a result, some really awful students.  I wasn’t allowed to do anything fun with them or really even teach them much.  I could’ve been such a cool English Teacher.