On Falling Back in Love With Parts of Your Writing Identity

Melody of Rain - Michael Cheval (2015)

So, I've been sucking to high heaven at staying on top of my writing goals lately. Kind of, anyway. I still have plenty of time to put together some decent stuff, but I have yet to do more than brainstorm when it comes to my essays for Medium's big August writing contest. It's not like I haven't been plenty busy, though. 

I've had more work to do for clients than I've taken on in a while, but that's actually been strangely refreshing. Like a lot of creative people, I really crave variety in my work, so it's never a bad idea to switch things up once in a while. I've been pouring so much into my blogging and personal work lately that freelancing actually felt like a welcome departure from the norm instead of a grind I desperately need a break from. I talk a good game about leaving copywriting behind forever one day when (and if) I ever experience a big breakthrough with any of the rest of my writing. But I doubt I ever actually will. 

If I'm honest with myself, there are things I do like about it and will probably always like about it. Some part of me enjoys putting myself in the shoes of different audiences, educating others, and finding the right words to make a specific product or service sound inviting. Plus, I know some of the bigger writers in my circle have fallen madly in love with big-ticket private ghostwriting -- something to potentially consider if I ever make it to that level. There's always another level to move up to, it seems.

That said, let this be a reminder to any writer who thinks they've fallen out of love with any style of writing they once loved to produce. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, so it's worth taking a little time away from something and coming back to it later regardless of how "done" you think you are with it. (That's how I rekindled my interest in creative writing months ago, as well.) In fact, I'm beginning to think writers never truly outgrow aspects of who they are and what they like to do with their words. 

........

In other news, some exciting things are going on over at Quora -- a place I love but haven't been able to justify spending as much time as I'd like, since I didn't have a way to monetize any of my work there. They've just introduced a new monetization program that you can enroll in now in preparation for the launch of Quora+ in the near future. Of course, no one knows how promising an opportunity that's really going to be, since no one's actively earning yet, but it's still pretty exciting.

This is a wonderful time to be a writer on the internet, even if I do say so myself. I remember years ago when I first started blogging, the idea of wanting to earn anything from the content you put out there was frowned upon by so many of my so-called peers. You not only had to suffer for your art, but you had to be putting it out there for free to prove how pure your love was for what you were doing. Now, with so many people launching home businesses and side hustles, it's widely understood that people can't justify producing valuable content for a platform unless they're getting something in return for it. 

Everywhere people go to get their writing out there these days seems to be paying, at least potentially. And more and more of these platforms are upping their game in an attempt to compete with Medium, so... it's worth spreading yourself around a little. If anything, I have too many paying platforms on my radar these days, especially when you add in all the places I like to go to snag one-off freelance assignments when I'm in the mood. Not a bad problem to have at all.