The Need to Breathe For Creativity
Inspiration can strike at any time — but as Winnie the Pooh put it, “doing nothing often leads to the very best of something.”
Inspiration can strike at any time — but as Winnie the Pooh put it, “doing nothing often leads to the very best of something.”
Interviews are one of the many perks that come with your title in the media industry. They function as your excuse to pick a stranger’s brain and speak with them as if you’ve been friends for years.
But fostering the ideal, conversational-yet-informative interview is difficult — especially if you’re new to the process.
Navigating the trials and tribulations of discovering your specialty as a writer is basically one big game of throwing shit at a wall and seeing what sticks.
But even then — where do you start?
Being self-employed comes with its own set of challenges: establishing your business, carefully keeping track of your taxes and deduction, generating leads, negotiating your own health insurance… The list goes on and on.
However, you may notice your day-to-day workflow falling into an all-too-predictable routine. You feel fortunate to do what you love for a living, but is it stimulating enough? Do you feel challenged – or rather, should you feel challenged?
As your caffeine-induced writing binge draws to a close, you shake the 90-words-per-minute keystrokes off your hands and wipe your brows. Phew!
But it’s not over ’till it’s over. In fact, now you’re tasked with the most important (and often the most challenging) part of your writing rendezvous.
Push back your glasses, it’s time to start editing… Or is it?
Take a look at who you’re following online and ask yourself why you follow them. You probably follow a few loved ones, perhaps some colleagues. Maybe some of the accounts are owned by celebrities or brands.
What’s so special about the brands you follow? What has encouraged you to pledge your online support to them?
Often times after I say that I’m a full-time freelancer, it’s met with wide-eyes and a jaw fully agape.
“But, how do you stay motivated to work,” I’m frequently asked. “How do you keep yourself from procrastinating or just screwing off all day?”
Quite the opposite ends up happening to us freelancers, actually.