question authority--especially your own

Wow, I just finished a very encouraging writing session today. I put one article manuscript in the e-mail, and just sent another e-query, as well. Both are about the same person and their work, but are tweaked in slightly different ways to sell to different publications.

What has been different about this session is that I did most of the actual WRITING on the bus. I've finally broken my long-standing "rule" that I can't write non-opinion stuff anywhere but in front of the computer at home. While it is harder to dig up facts and exact quotes, it's possible to tag my notes (often kept in the same steno book as my interviews and writings) while doing a structural outline, and make the actual writing part as simple as plugging things in.

In other words, the hard work is in drawing up a "road map" or "blue print" for the article, not so much in writing it. That's often true for me, anyway.

I've already heard back on the manuscript submission (I sent a cc: to the managing editor, knowing that THEY handle the manuscripts--job-related secret knowledge!) already. It's at least going to be considered at the next issue's meeting. That's encouraging. It's a big newsstand magazine, so it's a nice encouragement that it wasn't rejected out of hand. :)

I've been focusing on always having at least one query or submission in the works at all times, instead of my New Year's resolution of one-query-a-week, and I find that I end up sending two at once! I can't say if that's me needing "escape velocity" for more than one project to let them all GO and be seen by editors or some other force at work.

Anyway, feeling a little more encouraged about there being some income potential in this freelancing I'm doing. It's not the only reason I do what I do, but it is part of the equation, so this has been a nice feeling that my productivity will some day bear financial fruit.

Defending the art of children

Eric Maisel, a therapist, creativity coach and author of a number of novels and books on creativity, has written a delightful entry at his blog about the creativity of children and how adults sometimes react. It's a really cute story. Read it here.

coming down off of crisis mode...

Finally got through the big awards dinner at work. I produced (shepherded) the videos for the evening and things went off without a hitch. Thank GOD!

After a week or two of tense urgent-crisis mode, I'm finally coming down off the adrenaline high. Flitting around in that state is not my cup of tea, which is one of many reasons I'm not a reporter at a daily newspaper. I can't think clearly when I'm pulling the bacon out of the fire every five minutes. (Or the peppers off the grill, if you prefer some sort of veggie shiskabab imagery.)

It's time for the Echo column again, and I think I have something that will work. I was inspired by the antics of the Arizona Senate, which has had a bill floating around that would require teachers to create alternate assignments for any students who had moral objections to a reading assignment or class activity.

My take is that having to deal with things that morally offend us is a GOOD thing--not that intolerance or injustice is good, but being stretched and forced to respond creatively is better than cutting ourselves off from a world that upsets and irritates, as well as delights and mystifies us.

I took a break last week (partially because of day job madness, as described above) from my query-a-week treadmill. I plan to send out a short article (no query needed) this week, and aim for four queries a month.

That change isn't just semantic--it's an attempt to balance my desire to get my ideas and proposals out there regularly with the need to have time to consider what I'm sending out well enough to send out things that will actually be compelling to editors. I also took a break because I was feeling like I was doing it by rote, and if I feel that way, I can't imagine my letters are sounding fresh and interesting...