D.C. Area Freelance Writer » Writing

On Assignment

Mindy — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 01:47:58 +0000

Last week I packed up my notebook and pen and flew to West Virginia for a reporting assignment. I was there to cover the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, Deborah Hersman. I loved being somewhere new and getting to have lunch with the chairman. I walked away with a story, a few additional story ideas and plenty of photos. Plus, I totally want an official NTSB jacket.

Heading out of my home office is always a fun way to get my creative juices flowing. A few years ago I wrote this blog post for The Editorial Advantage titled Bring Back the Field Trip. I talked about how my stories grow richer when I get out from behind my desk. As a write-at-home freelancer (and mom), most of my research is done via telephone interviews and e-mail correspondence, but there is a lot to be said for going on assignment.

Home Office Revamp

Mindy — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 01:47:40 +0000

The days have been flying by lately. Between a slew of work projects, a hubby who has been burning the midnight oil and my two little ones, time is passing quickly.

I’ve been so fortunate to have a steady stream of freelance projects since hanging my own shingle about two years ago. The past few months have been especially busy. It has reinforced the need to dedicate a set workspace to my work. As a write-at-home mama, it is easy to pack my laptop from room to room, but I find I am more efficient and focused when I sit at my desk.

So, I’m in the midst of a re-vamp of my home office. I’m on a budget, but I am going to splurge on a few tools that I think will help boost my productivity. Today I ordered a new wireless keyboard and mouse and a laptop stand. Tomorrow I’m heading out to pick up a fancy-schmancy desk chair. Whoo hoo.

As part of the re-vamp, I’m in the market for a desk for my little guy. There was a time when he was happy to play on the floor while I worked, but now we have a power struggle over the desktop (and laptop, but that is another story). I’m hitting a few consignment sales this weekend in hopes of finding the perfect new-to-us addition to the office.

We’ll be moving some furniture around, re-purposing items from other rooms and pulling a few things down from the attic. There has also been a steady hum coming from my shredder as I purge the filing cabinets and clean house.

I share our office space with my hubby, so we keep the space pretty gender neutral and our first priority is the functionality of the room. Luckily we both have our own desks.

I have been online looking for inspiration for our space. I found an amazing home office while blog hopping this week, but I can’t for the life of me remember the blog! I hate when that happens. I love this corner workstation on Oh Happy Day. I hope we can add an armoire for storage at some point—but that is probably pretty far down the line.

So tell me— what are your must-haves for your home office? How have you arranged your space? Do you have any inspiration rooms or home offices you covet?

Freelancing: The Byline

Mindy — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:18:02 +0000

I once had a woman tell me that only journalists notice bylines. She may have been right. But, no matter how many times I’ve seen mine, I still get a kick out of it. The first time I saw my byline in something other than my college or high school paper was when I was interning for a weekly newspaper in Salt Lake. I walked into a bagel shop to grab a sandwich and saw a stack of the issue my story was slated to run in. After weeks of managing the calendar that ran in each issue, I’d finally been trusted with a real story. I grabbed a paper, flipped through the pages and saw my name. I wanted to point it out to everyone in line with me, but I didn’t. Instead I grabbed a stack on my way and hand delivered them to all of my relatives within a 120-mile radius.

I don’t get that excited anymore, but now it almost means more. It reminds me that I am earning my living as a writer—something that had been my plan since I was a teenager. It also reminds me that the leap of faith I took when I decided to hang my own shingle has paid off. I’ve been a full-time freelancer for two years this month and I’ve worked harder for myself than I ever did for anyone else. Of course I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Having my byline arrive in my mailbox also reminds me that, with the particular publication that arrived this week and is pictured above, it also arrived in the mailboxes of just over 25,000 other people. I like knowing something I researched and wrote has been sent out into the world. I just always hope that people like what they read.

The best part of my job is when people read an article takes the time to visit my website and leave a comment saying they liked what they saw. I can’t tell you how big of a smile that puts on my face.

So for all of you non-byline-reading folks, give them a gander once in a while. And, if you like what you read, let someone know! I bet it will make his or her day.

Reading: My Love of Short Stories

Mindy — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:35:45 +0000

There is just something about short stories that I have always loved. Now that I’m a mom and my pleasure reading time is limited, I appreciate them even more. Short stories are there for me when I only have a few minutes to read and even if I’m running on empty, they never seem too overwhelming.

I think the other reason I love short stories is that I know how hard it is to write them well. With limited space the authors have to keep the action moving, have precisely the right pace and pull us in right from the start.

I just discovered Joyce Carol Oates’ 1966 short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” In just over 4,000 Oates tells a gripping story of Connie, a pretty typical teenager, and her encounter with a bad-boy type who turns out to be someone she did not expect.

Oates said she was inspired to write the story after reading a story in Life magazine of young man who had enticed and killed three girls in Tucson, Arizona, during the early 1960s.

There are all kinds of analysis and study guides for the story online—just do a quick Google search. The story is a great example of fiction writing at its best and is, obviously, worth being studied. But, more than that, I think it is just a great read. So, if you have a few minutes, check it out here.

Ten Commandments for a Happy Writing Life

Mindy — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:09:28 +0000

I always have fun flipping through The Pocket Muse by Monica Wood. It is a little book full of big inspiration and writing advice. My favorite entry is the Ten Commandments for a Happy Writing Life. Here they are:

1. Don’t wait for inspiration; establish a writing habit.

2. Take time off.

3. Read voraciously.

4. Shut out the inner critic.

5. Claim a space.

6. Claim some time.

7. Accept rejection.

8. Expect success.

9. Live fully.

10. Wish others well.

Writing: The State of Freelance Rates

Mindy — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 01:40:46 +0000

There was an interesting article in the LA Times today about the downward trend in freelance rates. I would write more about it, but I have a story due tomorrow (one that I am getting paid for) and I need to get writing! So, I’ll just post the link to the article, Freelance Writing’s Unfortunate New Model, here.

Writing: Quote of the Day

Mindy — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:09:20 +0000

“When you first start writing, you never fail. You think it’s wonderful and you have a fine time. You think it’s easy to write and you enjoy it very much, but you are thinking of yourself, not the reader. He does not enjoy it very much. Later, when you have learned to write for the reader, it is no longer easy to write. In fact, what you ultimately remember about anything you’ve written is how difficult it was to write it." – Ernest Hemingway

Writing: Now on Newsstands

Mindy — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:33:58 +0000

The sidebar to a feature story I wrote on warehousing technology is up online. You can read it on Transport Topics’ Web site here.

Author Q&A: Loraine Despres (Part 2)

Mindy — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:59:13 +0000

Like I said in yesterday’s post, best-selling author Loraine Despres and I had such a great conversation last week, it warranted a two-part blog post. Today she tells us about her experiences as a writer.

Q. Can you tell me about your writing process?

A. When I’m writing and particularly when it is going well, I write until I’m at a loss for words. When you write for television, the show has to go on, so you have to get it done. I would love to be one of those people who could start at 6:00 and be done for the day at 10:00, but I usually write from 10:00 to 5:00.

If I’m writing something, it is the first thing I have to do. It is just like when you go to an office and have a job, you have to put that first. It is more important than getting your nails done or chatting with your mom. When I am working on a novel, that is my job.

When I had a small child, I worked during his school time, but I worked every day. People believe if you’re a writer, that it is what you do in your spare time when you have nothing else to do. People who say that are not writers. The real difference between a writer and a non-writer is showing up.

I did a lot of research. If there are any mistakes, they truly are mistakes because I wanted it to be very accurate. A doctor helped me find out about old abortions. I got old Life magazines and would go to the library so I could describe what people wore.

Q. What was your favorite part of the writing process?

A. Sissy was really special. The best part was when I would not be able to sleep at night because she’d be talking to me.

Q. Did you write the novel in a linear fashion or did you go back and forth on sections?

A. It was mostly linear. In television you always outline and I always hated outlining because you don’t have characters that are talking to each other. With this, I kind of knew what the story was. I let my characters talk to me for about 60 pages and then I outlined. If you can outline, it makes the writing process easier.

Q. Were there any parts of the novel you left on the cutting room floor?

A. With Sissy—not much. Those characters really came alive to me. I had been writing so hard for television and you’re in such a box. I would get to something like when Parker came home with Clara and I said, ‘Can I really make her the daughter of a bigoted candidate for Congress?’ I thought, ‘Hell ya.’ I was writing it for myself and I thought I might as well have fun with it.

Q. I love the language in the novel.

A. Thank you. My publisher called this literary fiction with a mass-market appeal. I work very hard on every word. It has to be beautiful, it has to sound like poetry. I try to change people’s lives.

Don’t forget that I am giving away two autographed book plates Loraine sent. Just leave a comment by 5:00 Eastern on Friday, Oct. 16. I’ll announce the winners on Monday.

You’ll also want to visit Loraine’s blog and her Web site to learn more about her and her novels. You can check out my review of The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc here.

Author Q&A: Loraine Despres (Part 1)

Mindy — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:07:20 +0000

I am so excited to present part one of a two-part Q&A with best-selling author Loraine Despres. Loraine is the author of The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc, The Bad Behavior of Belle Cantrell and The Southern Belle’s Handbook, Sissy LeBlanc’s Rules to Live By. If you read my post about The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc, you know that I fell in love with the book. The writing is beautiful and the plot lines are engaging. Prior to writing novels, Loraine wrote for television and is known for writing the "Who Shot J.R.?" episode of DALLAS.

Loraine was nice enough to talk with me about the novel and her experience writing it. She also sent me autographed bookplates, and I’m giving away two this week to some lucky readers. Just leave a comment by 5:00 Eastern on Friday, Oct. 16. I’ll announce the winners on Monday.

Q. How long did it take you to write the novel?

A. I worked on it for three years. They say hard writing makes easy reading. I thought it was going to take me six months. I told my agent to leave me alone and let me finish it. But then I couldn’t get it published. My agent got responses such as we love the writing, but we don’t know how to sell it. I said it was a literary novel. Not interested. I said it was a woman’s novel, but in the 90s a woman’s novel was a mean husband torturing his wife. I said it was a beach read, but they said no. It wasn’t until Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood came out that it sold, and then it sold right away and went on to become a national best seller.

When it didn’t look like Sissy was going to get published, the thing that made me really sad was that nobody would get to meet Belle Cantrell, Sissy’s grandmother. She was so much like the ladies that were my grandmother’s friends.

Q. I read in your acknowledgments that Sissy was created in Deena Metzger’s workshop. Can you tell me more about it?

A. I was in a writing workshop because I needed a creative push. Deena asked us to write a short story in 20 minutes. The story I came up with was something from my family history. Back in the 30s, a man [walked into a bar and saw his wife sitting with another man. He went across the street into what was at that time my grandfather’s department store, and bought a gun. Then he walked back across the street and shot them both. My grandfather was so upset he made a rule-- no more handguns on credit. I called the short story “Gun Control.” Then the character of Sissy kept coming back to me, and because I’m a professional writer I paid attention. I thought I would write the scene where Sissy and Parker meet. Then I said, ‘Well I’ll write the next scene.’ I thought maybe I’d have some linked short stories. Then I was in a restaurant and someone said Bourreé Johnson would be a good name. I thought Bourreé LeBlanc would have to be Sissy’s father-in-law. I wrote the scene of them meeting in the woods. I never changed that scene. [Mindy’s note: The scene Loraine is referring to is in chapter 13 and totally surprised me.]

Q. Did Sissy drive the plot, or did the plot drive Sissy?

A. Sissy definitely came first. Originally she looked like my friend’s sister who I thought looked very glamorous. She wasn’t like her at all, but sort of had her look. I originally was going to put it in the 40s, but I decided I wanted to put it in the 50s at the beginning of the civil rights movement. I wanted to capture that part of the civil rights movement when white people became bigoted in a vocal way. I grew up in the south and the way the blacks were treated then was very awful and was something I couldn’t understand. I wanted to reflect that.

Q. Can you tell me more about the rules in the Southern Belle’s Handbook?

A. They were all created for the book but reflect the rules my mother and my grandmother set down for me. Generations of Southern wisdom, including the bad ones like don’t let a boy know how smart you are.

Come back tomorrow for more on my conversation with Loraine and her writing process. In the meantime, visit her blog and her Web site to learn more about her and her novels.