Do you have something of a love-hate relationship with writing for a living? I know I do. But there are some things we can do about it.
The advent of the web and its arrival in mainstream society is both a blessing and a curse for freelance home-based writers.
On the plus side, it makes doing the job so much easier, and making the contacts to try and get the work is infinitely easier than it was in a pre mass internet world. On the other hand, the quality has dropped as so many people are doing the same thing – as witnessed by the increase in price of rural properties relative to urban property over the last 12 years or so.
A more subtle problem, though, is the loneliness and isolation many web-based freelance writers face. This has always been a problem for writers, regardless of the web. But the ease of briefs and research and the lack of a need for face-to-face conferences and meetings etc., exacerbates it. Put this together with the very logical decisions freelance writers make to live in beautiful rural locations, or abroad, and the sense of isolation can be worse still.
But in many ways, it’s a nice problem to have. The trick is to make oneself leave the house for whatever spurious / invented reasons, on a daily basis – and to make a commitment to do so to other people. Making a resolution oneself simply doesn’t cut the mustard, as it’s too easy to break. Similarly, the commitment must involve meeting other people in the flesh and not talking about a professional area of expertise. In this way, you’ll return to your professional work refreshed and ready to work.
Alternatively, travel to meet people in your professional sphere in whatever capacity you can afford – conferences / corporate entertainment business seminars etc. These will connect you with people and it’s simply that human face-to-face connection which really is vital for your sanity. Take it from one who knows!
