The Eight Stages of Freelance Writing

I've been working as a freelance writer for about three years now.  And I 've noticed a pattern to all freelance assignments. I call it the "Eight Stages of Freelance Writing."

Stage One Panic: you get the assignment and your first thought is "how do I do this?" I have to call people I don't know and ask for their time and consideration. I have to make a coherent story out of what they tell me (and there may be more than one). I can't do this!

Stage Two Stress: you can't get a hold of the people you need to talk to. Your deadline is looming (even though it might be two weeks away) but every day you can't get a hold of the people you need to adds more and more stress. "Why don't they answer their phone or return my calls?" (This stage doesn't always happen, sometimes they answer on the first call.)

Stage Three Planning: you've got the appointment made to talk, now you plan your questions and plan how to get to them and plan what time to leave so you get there early (always get there early). This is still stressful but not nearly as stressful as Stage Two.

Stage Four Panic: you've done the interview and you're getting ready to write the story. But how do you turn your pages of scribbled notes into a coherent, interesting to read story? What do you use to "hook" the reader? How do you get this past your editor who knows you're a fraud?

Stage Five Work: you write the story, it takes hours and you flip back and forth through your notes to make sure you include every important or interesting point.  You're too busy now for panic or stress, it's just work, but it's work you love.

Stage Six Confidence: It's done, it's proofread, and it's good (you think). You feel good about your accomplishment.

Stage Seven Panic: you send it in to the editor and don't hear anything back. You think they must have hated it and will never hire you again.

Stage Eight Satisfaction: the editor publishes the story and you get a check. You're happy, satisfied, and looking forward to the next assignment so you can return to Stage One (which you've completely forgotten about, now).

You'll notice there are three panic stages. Yes, I spend a lot of time in panic and stress. But when you see your byline it's so satisfying. And the money helps, too.

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Ashley Chappell and Heather Choate

Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are proud to welcome Ashley Chappell and Heather Choate

Ashley Chappell

Ashley Chappell

Ashley Chappell is the author of the recently released Of War and Taters, an irreverent paranormal romp set in the fictional deep south. She is also the author of the young adult fantasy Dreams of Chaos series (Alice Will, Tilt and A God of Gods) which has been hailed by readers as “Darker and more entertaining than the Heroes of Olympus Series.” The series is set in the sentient god-universe Chaos where a teenage goddess is forced to contend with the destructive habits of her dysfunctional godly elders.

Upcoming releases include: The Hotting, a Dreams of Chaos spinoff adventure for younger readers; and The Editors, a new adult urban fantasy. Other works in progress also include outlining the script for her first comic The Harrows, a gritty adventure in which Hell is a job.

Ms. Chappell currently resides in Huntsville, AL with the love of her life. During her writing time her cats sometimes share her lap with her computer, should they choose to allow the usurpation at all. When not writing, reviewing, or burying her nose in one of her well-worn Terry Pratchett or Neil Gaiman novels, she can be found sailing with her husband on their boat Dupracity (Fans of Kurt Vonnegut will want to ask her what that means).

Ashley's Books

Of War and Taters

Alice Will

Tilt

Ashley's Links

Website

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Heather Choate

Heather Choate

Heather Choate was born in Littleton, Colorado.  She now lives in a small town in Southern Colorado on a farm with her husband and five children.  She chases chickens, declares war on the weeds in her garden and enjoys quietly people-watching.  Most of her time is spent daydreaming of worlds and people that don’t actually exist but reflect the beauty and complicity of humanity.  She was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2014 while pregnant with her sixth child, spurring her to write about her passion for health and fitness in addition to her fiction novels.  Writing is her escape from diaper changes and runny noses, but motherhood is the greatest journey and joy of her life.

Heather's Books:

Swab

Frayed Crossing

Blackwing Angel

Heather's Links:

Website

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

From Today's Program: Star Trek Technology

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Charlie Hebdo, Sharia Law, and the Right to Be Offensive.

Three gunman killed twelve writers in Paris last Tuesday. The writers, who worked at the satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, were likely targeted because the magazine had published a cartoon of Mohammad. As the BBC reported:

The satirical weekly has courted controversy in the past with its irreverent take on news and current affairs. It was firebombed in November 2011 a day after it carried a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad.

If you're a writer, you have to take notice. This attack is an assault on freedom of speech and your creative liberty. It is an attempt to dissuade anyone from violating Sharia Law's prohibition of making images of Mohammad.

Don't think this could affect you?  U.S. cartoonist Molly Norris of Seattle, Washington, had to go into hiding after suggesting that there be a "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" in response to censorship that itself was in response to death threats over a depiction of Mohammed.

In my novel, Rock Killer, some of the villains are Muslims. While they are more interested in political power than religious purity, if some splinter group of Muslims armed with AK-47s took offense, I might have to go into hiding. (I'm not very worried about this, to be honest.)

As artists and writers, we need to maintain our creative freedom and fight for our right to say what we want without fear of reprisal from terrorists or governments (I'm looking at you, Canada). Of course, what Canada does is not along the lines of what happened in Paris, but it comes from the same mindset of "You offended me, you must pay!"

Do I think you should post a cartoon of Mohammad? No. But you should not let this cow you into worrying about offending anyone with your writing. We can not back down even in the face of this evil.

But more than that, we must maintain our right to offend others. If we cannot offend anyone, we cannot do our craft. Someone, somewhere is likely to be offended by pretty much anything. No one has the right to demand not to be offended no matter if what offends them is a cross on a hill or the existence of hard core pornography.

And, because you never know who might come to power and decide what you write is "too offensive," you don't want government taking action to keep some from being offended (yes, Canada, I mean you). "What, you write about recovery from sexual abuse? That offends me!" And believe me, almost everything you write is likely to offend someone (this blog post might offend a few).

We can not let what happened in Paris stop us from writing what we want. We can not let the government or any organization stop us from writing what we want. Does that mean there will be stuff out there that offends us? Yes. But it is better to suffer that than have someone else decide if what we write is too offensive to be in print or on the web.

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Diane E.M. Tegarden and Joe MacKinnon

Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are proud to welcome Diane E.M. Tegarden and Joe MacKinnon

Diane E.M. Tegarden

Diane E.M. Tegarden

Diane Tegarden, an author of four published books, lives in Pasadena, with her husband and cats.
She’s been a print journalist since 1992, writing on a wide range of subjects including; renewable energy, environmental concerns, holistic health, women’s issues, and Native Spirituality. Her work has been found in: The Pasadena Star News, Security Sales Magazine, The Pasadena Weekly, The Solar Flare, The Feral Forest, Earth Luvyrs Calendar, The Daily Sundial, the West Coast Well Being, Associated Content and Health Breakthroughs.

In April 2004, she self-published her first book, How To Escape a Bad Marriage– A Self Help Divorce Book For Women, which provides step by step instructions on how to achieve financial and emotional independence in preparation for a divorce.  Her company, FireWalker Publications Inc. was formed in 2004 to promote her passionate, original written works, ideas and creations.

Since 2005, she’s written for such online content producers, Yahoo Content and The Examiner.com.
She released her second book, a poetry e-book, Light Through Shuttered Window in December of 2007. The poems are about life, love and the process of creativity. In March 2008 she completed her third book, Anti-Vigilante and The Rips in Time, a science fiction novel set in the distant future, with its hooks deep into renewable energy and the changing face of the planet.

October 2012 found her putting the finishing touches on her second self-help book Budgeting on a Dime: 10 Steps to Financial Independence which will aid many people in learning to live within their means while getting their financial picture in good working order.

Diane's Books:

Anti-Vigilante and the Rips in Time (science fiction)

Light Through Shuttered Window, A Compendium of my Poetry

Budgeting on a Dime - Ten Steps to Financial Independence (self-help)

Diane's Links:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Joe MacKinnon

Joe MacKinnon

Born in Calgary, Alberta. Ran reckless through Fish Creek Part and lost teeth. Moved to Toronto, Ontario in 2000. Studied English and history at the University of Toronto. Grew a beard. Went back out west to the University of Alberta to earn a masters and study Mandarin. Wrote Faultline 49, Cypulchre, and The Savage Kingdom in quick succession. Currently involved with Pulp Media pictures (i.e. music videos and pulpy shorts), and finishing screenplay for Faultline 49 adaptation.

Joe's Books:

Faultline 49

Cypulchre

The Savage Kingdom

Joe's Links:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter

From today's show: Hybrid neutron star.

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Trip to Seattle (Area) . . .

Sunday I was gone from Noon until just after 10:00 P.M. This is because I drove to Seattle and back. One son (who doesn't drive) was returning to college and another was flying out of SeaTac and wanted to be dropped off. Which is normally no big deal. I run to Seattle and come back all the time.

Except the weather chose this particular Sunday to turn to crap.

Going westbound (toward Seattle), it wasn't bad for the first, oh, 100 miles. But then it started snowing hard and soon the road was covered in snow, slush, and ice, and everyone else was going stupidly slow. On Snoqualmie Pass,  the State Patrol, always over-cautious, was requiring chains on vehicles without all wheel drive and had the speed limit down to 35 mph. But I had all wheel drive and snow tires so I had no problems (and didn't have to put on chains). But people were driving as slow as 20 to 25 mph. What would happen is someone going 21 mph would be passing someone going 20

mph and take forever to do it.

Another interesting phenomena was that in places where the road was three or four lanes wide, people were still driving in only two rutted out paths. At one point I jumped into an unused (and unrutted) lane and blazed my own trail, passing several slow cars and loving my all wheel drive and Blizzak snow tires.

Finally we got down the west side of the Cascade Mountains were it was "only" raining. I actually managed to put the cruise control back on until we got into traffic around the Seattle suburbs. But what normally takes about two hours (our house to the Starbucks in North Bend where we often stop for a bathroom break) took three hours (and I really needed to go!).

We took my son's stuff into his apartment (well, I didn't, I was on the phone) and then took him food shopping. Then we went to a Korean restaurant for dinner. I was encouraged to see that it was full of Koreans. The food was good but it was a bit expensive and the portions small. And lately it seems Korean restaurants have calmed down their kimchee. It wasn't very spicy and I like spicy kimchee.

But, for the first time, ever, I had trouble with chopsticks. My hand would cramp up and then I couldn't control them. I finally resorted to a fork, embarrassed that I had to do so.

We took the college son back to his apartment, dropped the other son off at the airport, and headed back over the mountains going east. I stopped in North Bend and filled the car with gas because I wanted a full tank in case we had problems on the pass.

By the time we reached the pass, it was "mixed rain and sleet" but as we progressed, the rain turned to freezing rain. Freezing lane on snow is a heck of a lot better then freezing rain on pavement. On snow it'll get broken up with each passing car. The biggest problem was that at the edges of the road were deep slush banks. If you got into them, they were likely to pull you off the road. And we did see a lot of cars off the road probably for that reason.

We stopped in Ellensburg to get something to drink and go to the bathroom. I also wanted to clear the windshield wipers which were caked with ice and nearly useless. There was, I would estimate, about an 1/8th inch of ice on the frontal areas of the car. The windshield stayed mostly clear because I had the defroster going full blast most of the time. To the right is a picture of how much ice there was on the windshield frame (A pillar).

We escaped Ellensburg just before the "sleet" (read: freezing rain) started. The rest of the trip we had bare and wet roads. I was nervous about black ice or a sudden ice spot so I never turned on the cruise control and kept my speed below 70 most of the time (my right foot is a rebel and I did catch myself at 78 a couple of times).

We finally got home about 10, four hours after leaving SeaTac. That is normally about a 2.5 hour drive.

Are You Jealous or Envious?

So someone posts on Facebook "Hey, I'm going to Cabo!" and what does nearly everyone else comment? "Jealous!"

Yeah, that's so wrong.

Jealousy is when you are afraid of losing something. You are jealous your wife is flirting with another man. You jealously guard your Star Wars figures collection.

But you are envious when you want or desire some thing someone else has. You are envious of their trip to Cabo. You envy you're neighbor's wife (which is why he's jealous). You envy the talent of that guy in your writers' group.

Another word for "envy" is the old Biblical concept of "covet." "Do not covet thy neighbor's wife or donkey." (Believe me, I'll never covet my neighbor's donkey.)

If someone has it and you want it, that's envy.

If you're worried about losing something of yours, that's jealousy.

Don't confuse them.

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Elaine Calloway and Johnny Walker

Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are proud to welcome Elaine Calloway and Johnny Walker

Elaine Calloway

Elaine Calloway

Elaine Calloway is the Amazon.com bestselling author of paranormal and fantasy novels with elements of romance and desire. Her “tales of the living, the dead and the eerie in between” include the Elemental Clans Series, the Southern Ghosts Series and several short stories. A New Orleans native, Elaine grew up with a love of all things supernatural and enjoys visiting the “Crescent City.” She currently lives in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia.

Elaine's book:

No Grits No Glory (Southern Ghosts, #1) Amazon, B&N, Smashwords

Elaine's links:
Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Pintrest

Johnny Walker

Johnny Walker is a musician turned soundman turned author. He has received two Billboard Songwriting Citations and written songs for himself and others for over twenty-five years. After spending his youth on the road, he settled down in New York City where he became much more involved in sound design and began working for Ralph Lauren Media Services, Miramax Films, and Lifetime...to name a few. First published in 2006, Johnny has recently completed a Fiction Fantasy Trilogy titled, EKKO.

Johnny's book:

EKKO White Limousine Amazon, iBooks

Johnny's Links:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Pintrest
YouTube

From today's program: Dark Matter Signal.

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