On December, News Break, and the Holiday Blahs

I suppose there isn't much left of the dumpster fire that's been 2020 at this point, although it hardly matters. It's not as if something magical is going to happen the minute the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve or anything. The world will still be as it is, and we'll still be as we are -- hurting but healing and figuring out what's next for us. But that is, without a doubt, one of the more valuable lessons I've learned this year. 

You may not be able to control all of your circumstances to the extent you'd like, but you have total control over how you react to them. As someone who's had to teach herself to willingly take the reins of her own life over the years, I'm pretty proud of how consistently I showed up and showed out this year. I managed to turn some of the worst challenges of my life into fruitful, productive ways to earn, heal, and express myself this year.

This has especially been the case with my writing. I ended last year as a burnt-out copywriter who wasn't even sure how she'd be making ends meet in the year to come. I'm finishing this one in a completely different place. Not only did I find newer, better avenues for my copywriting skills, but I also became a professional blogger and found paying outlets for what I think of as my "real" writing. I completed the first draft of a book this year -- my very first stab at book writing ever to result in a finished manuscript. I have a running list of additional avenues I'll be exploring in 2021 and beyond, as well. I'm exceedingly happy with where I am right now and excited about everything yet to come.

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Like a lot of my friends and favorite writers on Medium, I've been testing the waters at News Break this month. I was invited to join their creator program at some point over the past couple of months, but I slept on it a while, as they seemed to be looking for citizen journalists as opposed to writers who do... whatever the hell it is I do. But then many writers from my circle started saying they saw some decent traffic there, even if all they'd done is republish their personal development stuff from Medium, so I decided to try the same thing. 

I'm now in the middle of the first month of a little experiment. I'm supposed to be getting a pretty hefty early adopter's bonus for my first three months on the platform if I post at least three qualifying articles a week there. However, it was unclear whether I needed to meet the desired traffic and follower quotas they mentioned to get the money. If so, I'm probably not getting it because I'm taking it really easy over there. But if not, I'll be pretty darned happy I decided to roll the dice there this time next month because I could sure use that cash. 

People who got on board right away are already seeing their first payments come through right about now, but I think most of them have been posting much more than the minimum three articles a week the way I have. So, we'll see what happens with my own little adventure. I'm not blown away with my numbers over there so far, nor am I completely sold on the overall publishing experience. Still, I could be convinced to spend more time there and even start publishing exclusive content if it turns out to pay decently. 

This is the first time I'm mentioning News Break to my collective readership at all so far, as I wanted to have more to report to people before I started talking about it in earnest. But if it starts working out the way Medium has, I'll be sure to blog more about my experiences there and recommend it personally to other writers I know who would do great on there. If you're interested in giving it a shot, feel free to use my referral link. Drop me a line and let me know you signed up, as well. I'd love to follow you and support your work.

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As December draws to a close, I've got a major case of the holiday blahs. My feelings about the holidays -- especially Christmas -- are complicated at best. This time of year always forces me to look inward and take stock of a few things regarding my life. I have much to be grateful for this year, especially professionally and creatively, but I can't help but be reminded of the missing things in my life. 

I've made my peace with the fact that I don't have healthy, nurturing relationships with most of my core family members to celebrate around this time of year. I have Seth, of course, and I am fantastically grateful for that. But it's sometimes hard not to have close, loving relatives I want to celebrate with, as well. The fact that the relatives in question are still living and entirely incapable of holding up their ends of the healthy relationships I want makes it more challenging. I often feel like I'm mourning their deaths ahead of schedule -- a strange, macabre feeling to have about one's own family, especially this time of year.

All things considered, I'm making the best of things. Writing remains an immensely comforting way to process some of these complicated feelings. I've been journaling a lot on a personal basis, especially. It helps. I've got some exciting ideas for other writings I'll be working on soon, too, so stay tuned.