Dead Meet (Story question)

Dead Meet (Yes, i mean meet and not meat.) is my first attempt to write something using actual writing tools.

One of the pieces of advice of I have gotten from Jim Butcher (not personally but from his blog.) is that every story should have a story skeleton or better put a story question.  It's the question that your book will answer. Its a great tool for me because I tend to want to throw the whole kitchen sink into each story and paragraph!

Anyhow, since I made this blog with the purpose of daily writing, I thought I would share what I have written so far... The story question for Dead Meet.

*Caugh, Caugh* Here we go!

When undead Deputy Blake Evans son goes mysteriously missing in Bozeman Mt, he must find his son before its too late! But, will he succeed when the alien fey try to obscure his path and while vampires from the city and a motor bike gang of werewolves threaten to tear apart Bozeman in a bazaar turf war? 

BAM!

Thats it!  

If you're a writer, whats the story question of something you're working on? Heck, even if you're not, do you have a story question?

 

Be Yourself

Have you ever tried to be something your not?

As some of you may know, I recently got a part time gig writing blogs for another website. In the details of the job it was stated that they were looking for cocky, funny jerks.

Well, I am not really funny, I guess I can sometimes be a jerk, and I am most certainly not cocky. As a matter of fact, I am against all those things because they are in direct opposition to what I believe.


Why did I take the job? Because I knew I could write a proposal the guy would like.

Here is the issue. What I am writing for this website is not me. I don't like it and as a matter of fact I am ashamed and embarrassed by the things I have written for this website. Not because of the content of the website but because the things I am writing in context to me are a lie.

Ultimately I tried to be someone i'm not. 

I agreed to write 6 blogs and I will do what I said I would, but won't continue on after that. I compromised the things I believe for money and that feels really crappy. This situation was a mistake but it's something I have learned from.

When I am myself, content flows naturally from me and its easy to write more. When I am not myself it is really hard for me to produce and its really draining. So from this point on I won't look for the jobs I think I can get, I will look for the ones that best line up with who I am. There might be less of those and they may have a lot more competition for them or pay less, but it will be something I can be proud of. When you are yourself doing something you can be proud about it helps propel you along to even greater things. That's why from now on I will be my self.

Have you ever tried to not be yourself to get something? How did that work out for you?

Expect the unexpected

Have you ever wanted something and then were scared once you got what you were hoping for?

I did. I have been searching out freelance writing jobs through a few different sites to fund my number #1. dream job; to work from my PC anywhere in the world.

While there are a lot of legitimate freelance jobs out there the competition is pretty fierce. So after lots of proposals I got my first official freelance job through Elance.com. If you want to check it out for yourself click here. Or use the link below.


I have been awarded my first freelance job. Someone is going to actually pay me to write blogs for their site. 6 blogs for $30.00. But, now I feel fear. Now is the scary part. I have to deliver what I promised. A small part of me wants to write back and say sorry, "you made a mistake." I really want to preform well and, the idea I will fall short of what is expected of me is really scary. Normally I would be paralyzed with fear but, my lovely wife reminded me of something incredible. Simple, but true.

God is in control. He knew I would get the job before I did. I can trust Him. I need to worry less about performing and pleasing man and worry more about pleasing the one who made me. That's not to say that I should't do what I said I would do. It's not to say I should't work my best to provide a product as valuable as possible. The bottom line...

The fear needs to die. 


I am really writing for an audience of One. Whether you're a believer of not, fear from self doubt and anxiety is not an ingredient to success and it most certainly does not bring peace or freedom. No one ever says, "my fears and anxiety helped me achieve my dream!" Or, "I'm just so thankful for my insecurity." No, we need to kill the fear that stops us from doing what we are born to be.

Do you agree? What is fear stopping you from doing?

Another great website to find freelance work or to hire a freelancer is Odesk. Check out the link below!

Another baby step under way

In the past I have mentioned that the key to traveling freedom is going to be through the laptop. If I can work through my laptop and make a living, I can do so anywhere in the world. At least anywhere that has power and the Internet...

To make money through the Internet we need to have multiple revenue streams. 

My first baby step in this department was to start blogging and to then monetize that blog so I can make money from it. You can read a little more about that here.

The next step is to find some work you can do through your PC. The basic idea is to become an Internet freelancer. There are a few legitimate websites that allow you to do this. You can find work writing E-books, blogging, editing, translation, transcription, and more. You can find work doing customer service, web design, or anything else that someone could do telecommuting. These are real work from home jobs but, there is real competition for them.

Here are the companies I recommend to find freelance / work from home jobs:



Odesk is great! Whether you're looking for freelance work or looking to hire a freelancer I would give them a try!

Next is Elance. I just got my first job though them! Some one is going to pay me to blog for them! More on this later as the deal is not 100% finalized. You can again find all kinds of freelance work for yourself or hire someone through this link here!

Another site I have not been able to use yet but have heard good things about is Guru.com.

So there you have it. 3 places to start looking for a little extra daily cash. Like most services these sites have a free "basic" membership that only allows you to do so much without paying. To get more use out of each site I would suggest purchasing some form of membership.

I hope you will continue to stay tuned in as I make my journey step by step toward mt dreams and financial independence.

*Disclosure; If you signup with either Odesk or Elance I will make money from that. I don't suggest them for that reason but thought you should know all the same.*

Your Ideas Don't Suck!

When I come up with ideas for stories, and begin to flesh them out, one issue I really struggle with is thinking my ideas suck. I often think to myself, "this idea is not good or at least not very original."Check out the video below.

All I can say is wow, that is so true. I often times imagine what it would be like to come up with such great ideas like my favorite authors do. I say to myself, "Man, if only I had thought of that..." Thanks to Derek's video I started to ask myself this question. How often do I not share stories or thoughts that are obvious? How often are those ideas maybe not obvious, but actually kind of profound?

Now, don't get me wrong. I think some ideas do  need refining, but how often do we not share thoughts that could really impact other people? Your ideas are worthwhile. You have something meaningful to contribute. Derek Sivers is right when he says, whats obvious to you might not be so to others.

How often do you have an idea but don't share it because you think its too obvious? Do you want to share something now?

I have just discovered Derek Sivers. Awesome guy who has written a great book called "Anything you want." You can but it from the link below.

Whats Up!

For me part of each of my blogs are about where I am at. My hope is to deliver something that is worthwhile to read and hopefully motivational. Another aspect of this for me is to also let people just follow where I am at in life, on my goals, and other miscellaneous information. So as far as the subject of reading and writing goes, here is where I'm at.

Writing: I have been consistently blogging on a daily basis. I have also been trying to focus on writing a short story somewhat consistently as well. I'm about 20 pages in, is that still a short story? Another question for you guys. I have several ideas for different stories. I have often wondered if I should just plow through one story until its done or should I bounce back and forth between the different ideas I have as I'm inspired? What do you think?

Reading/ books: I love reading, here are some books I have read that I would love to recommend.

A book that as really inspired me is Quitter by Jon Acuff. You can buy it from the picture/ link below.

   

Another book I am reading now is Entreleadership by Dave Ramsay. While I have not finished it yet it is full of great stuff about being a good leader and creating a team full of people who are invested.

Now if you're interested in some reading that's a little more "fun" I would like to recommend the following books / series I have read.

A Game of Thrones is the first book in a Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin.

I have also enjoyed reading Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. A series of books featuring a private eye in Chicago who is also a wizard. Along with that I also have really enjoyed reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.



It is important to note that I do get paid if you buy anything above using the linking provided. These are all books I recommend and have read. Monetizing my blog is a way for me make money and fund my dreams. Thanks again!

Pay to Play

For the longest time I have wanted to be a writer. A question I have struggled with for years is this. Do I love writing or do I just enjoy the "idea" of being a writer? After a pretty fierce debate with myself I have come to the conclusion that yes, I do love writing.

The thing we struggle with though is that the part of our brain that comes up with ideas is different than the part that does the "work" of putting those ideas onto paper. You see it takes work to sit and hash out sentence after sentence. It takes discipline to do this and when you have not forced yourself into this discipline your writing muscles are week and flabby. It's time to pump them up!

When I go to different web sites or read books on writing, one of the most given pieces of advise is that if you want to be a writer you must write every day for an hour. The basic idea is the more you write the better at writing you become. I know, its kind of a no duh principle but its true. When it comes to coming up with creative ideas for stories and books my mental muscles in that area are pretty darn beefy. Now when it comes to putting those into words on "paper" they are very weak.

Now I need to tone up by actually writing. That is one of the main reasons for writing this blog. I have committed to writing seven days a week. So my hope is the more I write the better I will get at it. I also believe that it will increase my capacity for actually putting my ideas to paper.

Here is another way I would look at it. In his book Quitter, Jon Acuff mentions that his dream was to be a writer. He started a blog and nothing happened from it. He then started another blog later writing day in and day out for it. After years of blogging for free he was finally able to write his book, Stuff Christians Like. The way he summarized that experience was that he had to give away something like a million words for free before he could sell 50,000.

Another concept is what is called the 10,000 hour rule. Malcolm Gladwell took a look at a common factor in people who become great at what they do. Most people who are considered professional at what they do have put in about 10,000 hours doing it! You can check it out for yourself below!

No matter what we want to do, we must make time to actually do it. For me I have about a million words and 10,000 hours of writing to do. With some hard work and determination I might just accomplish the dream of someday becoming a published author. In short, we must pay to play.

Writing, Reading, Publishing

I have come to the realization that I one day I would like to be an author with a published book. Preferably a book that gets made into a movie and makes more money than Harry Potter and Lord of the rings combined x5. Anyhow, this is where I plan to update my progress on writing, what I'm writing, what I've learned about writing, how I am going to publish my "books" and also what I have read or am reading.