The Writer's Comfy Corner

The Pressure to Be "Normal"

There are days when I tell people I spent the day writing. These people who are my friends and family look at me with a forced tolerance in their eyes and say something like, "Must be nice." 

It reminds me of the eighties song, "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits. In it, the band is told that singing and playing music isn't working.

When you write, do people ever make you feel like you should be doing something else?

If you work full time, your friends might think you have an interesting "writing hobby".  If you are trying to make money off of your writing, you may hear things like, '"Someday, you're going to have to be realistic."

Let me tell you right now, if you find joy in writing, then hold on tight to that feeling.  Joy and passion are the keys to making any endeavor successful.

It's not always easy, remaining confident in a world that mostly doesn't understand writers.  But I think if you hold on, you can do awesome things.

"A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit."  by Richard Bach

Writers can Create Podcasts

I've been doing a lot of experimentation lately.  Mainly because I dropped my old computer and was forced to buy a new one.  My new fancy Mac has exciting new features like Garage Band and iMovie.  With these programs I can make movies and podcasts.

Here is my first podcast.  Download Writer, Get Down This is me reading an essay about how I am not depressing enough to be a writer.

I've discovered a few things about podcasting in the last few days and I thought I would share the info:

1.  Sniffing and sneezing sounds really loud on a podcast.

2.  You need to create an MP3 file or an ACC file in order to share your podcast with other people.

3.  When searching for instructions on the Internet, it's important to read three or four sources because the number one google ranked source is not always the most complete or accurate website.

4.  Plan to record your podcast at least three or four times and then pick the best version to share with the world.  You will stumble while you're talking, but if you practice a few times, you can get a good recording of your poem or essay out to the world.

Podcasting is just one more way to share your thoughts with your fans.  If you've done some podcasting or you are planning to podcast in the future please share your experiences and hopes with me in the comment section.

Free Ebook for You

I'm proud to announce the creation of my first free ebook:

Crazy and Other Fun Words: A Collection of Sincere Silliness

I'm posting this here for a couple of reasons.

1.  I hope you will read and enjoy the eight essays I've put together for you.

2.  I want you to see that you can get your work out there too.  I saved my word document as a pdf file, gave my book a title and now it's online for everyone to enjoy.  From here on out, when anyone wants a sample of my work, I can say with all honesty, "Let me give you the link to my book."

3.  I'd like to see the writing community share more humor.  I love funny stories, so I thought I would kick off all the happy writing with a joyful contribution of my own.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!