writing and research

Recent weeks have been a bit tough in and in personal terms, but I still got a fair amount of work done. On the one hand life and family problems can fuel our writing, and on the other, when it comes to meeting a deadline, it is all too easy to write like an automaton, because to do otherwise, could mean ourselves and our writing become consumed by the problems. When you can’t bring on the autopilot, keeping up with your freelance writing can be tough.

Rheumatoid arthritis has been a real plague of late and it seems I need to use my stick more often if I am out walking, and too much time on the computer is really affecting my hands and arms, could be worse I suppose. I’ve been writing for Demand Studios for a few weeks now and my experience is not too bad overall, providing I can get two $15 articles completed in under an hour it is a good enough rate.

We recently had one of our eldest daughter’s boys living with us for a while, he has now gone back home and been replaced by my middle daughter’s eldest son, who is either out at his part time job or in sixth form classes most of the time. What is really getting to me tonight is our old dog who is sixteen, has to go to the vets tomorrow for his check up and I am hoping they will say he is still ok to carry on for a while. His legs give way quite often now and I have to help him up but he doesn’t seem to be in any real pain and still manages to enjoy his food and is happy when the children turn up, we shall see, just praying that things will be ok.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Just a Five Minute Writing Whinge
• Write it Right, Right?
• Freelance Writing: Keyword Research and Other Writerly Things
• A Dog’s View of Freelancing
• Marketing Your Freelance Writing Business

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Although I haven’t any complaints about the editing process in my short time at Demand Studios, I had to smile at this. Writing for DS is fine providing you have digested the requirements in the style guides and made sure that your content is in line with the title. Although the video link is very funny, for me it had two messages.

A Freelancer’s Nightmare

The video is an exaggeration to say the least, but most freelancers will recognise the tedium of a demanding client somewhere in there. Dana dealt with this a few days ago over at Sharon’s blog, just what are you prepared to put up with from a client before they become a nightmare. Sometimes requests for rewrites and changes really do become unacceptable, this is not what I have experienced at DS, it just rang a few bells. With some clients, it doesn’t matter how much or how well you write, you’ll never get it right. Sometimes the only thing you can do is break up with your client.

Read, Note and Inwardly Digest

This is a reminder to myself rather than to anyone else. I have a habit of reading something too quickly and missing the obvious, which is something I’ve had to unlearn since writing for DS. Providing you have taken note of the way things should be written and entered your text into the system, you shouldn’t suffer the same problems as the Fuhrer. When you are given a brief, make sure that you understand it fully, if you don’t, then question it before you start writing, there is nothing worse than finding a rewrite or a complete rejection in your inbox. Write it right, right!

Possibly Related Posts:

• Just a Five Minute Writing Whinge
• When the Freelance Writing Gets Tough
• Freelance Writing: Keyword Research and Other Writerly Things
• A Dog’s View of Freelancing
• Marketing Your Freelance Writing Business

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