Being A Writer in This Economy

So last night alone I applied for five different jobs. None of which include writing. Most of the writing jobs that I've seen require some type of higher degree or years and years of experience.  These are things I don't have unfortunately.  That's fine, though.  It won't stop me from writing when I can.  As much as I would love to be a stay at home mom and write full time, in this economy that is just impossible.  Especially with a child. One income households just aren't realistic anymore.  So now I'm waiting for an email or a phone call. Something. Anything.  Any suggestions or job opportunities that you know about?? Feel free to comment.

Blogger VS WordPress....and some updates on some stuff...

It's weird...I'm on WordPress more than Blogger but I have more followers and fewer page views a day over there. Here, I have fewer followers and more page views. Currently I'm using both but if these stats keep up, then I might consider just returning to just Blogger....
Anyhoo....

For the past couple of months I've been working on a YA novel.  Recently (as recently as last night) I've added a love interest for my main female character.  I read a lot of romance and write some too, but I'm really interested in writing a YA adventure type novel with African American MC's.  I feel like there are so few stories for young POC to read and see themselves in.  I want to play a part in changing that.  I want my son or my nieces and nephews to be able to read a book and say, "Hey! They look like me!".  I'm currently working on a piece that falls into that category.  The main character is a black female. She and her twin brother are looking for their missing parents.  Along the way the female MC meets a love interest.  That's the bit that I was building on last night...
So that's what I'm doing now. Feel free to comment with questions or any type of feedback

Possible Future Blog Importing

So I'm considering importing this blog over to WordPress. I've been doing this blog pretty steadily for awhile and things haven't really worked out the way that I planned. I've been trolling the WP site and I really like what I see! :) I've also asked the opinion  of some other writers and bloggers, and they agree that WP will be the best choice for what I'm looking for: more followers based on the blog as a whole instead of just based on keywords. What do you guys think?

Untitled

My brother and his family left today. My heart hurts! I didn't expect to cry but of course you never know how something will affect you until it actually happens. I will very much miss my brother, sister-in-law, niece, and nephew.  :'( I hope to plan a trip to Holland to visit them next year. I also plan to learn Dutch and to see that my kid learns Dutch so that we will be able to communicate in their first language. Looks like I'll need to look into Rosetta Stone.......

Writing: I told my mother that I've been having trouble deciding on which genre I want to write in. The top choices are between Romance, Erotica, and Fantasy. She recommend writing in all three. It's an intriguing idea. That will be something to think about and research later. Right now though, I'm about to eat this frozen pizza that I cooked in her toaster oven and watch Sweeney Todd.
Laters!

Vacation Day 3

So today is day three of my 2 week vacation. We went to the park again yesterday. My kid didn't fall out of the swing so that's a relief. I saw some more old friends and reminisced about high school choir and how strange it is to be grown up with kids. It was fun. My mom made spaghetti for dinner in a pot that she's had since before I was born.  It was a great day!
Today, I'm not really sure what we're doing. I think someone mentioned swimming, but that's later in the day........

Writing:
I'm planning to do some research and writing today. Probably while the kid is napping which will be in just a little while. I really need to work on plotting and some characterization.
I may be writing another blog later.......

2 Week Vacation

So I'm in Arkansas at my parents house for two weeks with the kid. Senior had to work so he couldn't come with us. (Someone has to bring home the proverbial bacon!)
Anyway....
I'm a little bit excited about this trip. One of my very best friends is pregnant and she found out the sex of the baby yesterday! It's a girl and her name will be Olivia Lorene. Naturally I'm excited to see her. I'll probably stay at her house for a couple of days to help her out and whatnot. I remember what it's like to be pregnant. I'll also be seeing a few other friends while in town.
More good news: My youngest older brother is in the States with his wife and their two kids Aiden, and Lily. They live in the Netherlands so of course hardly anyone gets to see them unless it's on Facebook and still hardly even then.

Also, I'm a little bit not so excited about this trip. I was really looking forward to a two week vacay from Deuce while he visted with the Grands and I stayed at home but then I thought about how I hadn't seen my mother in over a year and a half, and how much I missed my friends......
So here I am in my childhood room while my kid is snug in the guest room.
Today we just chilled. Tomorrow (supposedly)my brother will be here, and my friend will be visiting. Now that I'm here, I think it will be a pretty good visit.

Writing.......While I did bring a notebook, I don't really know how much writing I'll really get done here. There are a few ideas that I'm might research while I'm up typing on my moms awesome PINK laptop (I WANT IT!!!!!)!!!!!!!
Not sure if I mentioned the Fantasy novel that I've been working on. There are a few things that I want to research while I have the Grandparents keeping the kid semi distracted. Maybe there will be a rough draft in a month or so.  There are a lot of details that I want to hash out first.......

Pen and paper-Getting back to my more creative self.

So I think I've figured out what I was doing differently back then in regards to some earlier pieces that were much better than what I'm doing now. I was writing with pen and paper. So simple but apparently it was working. (I think). That's what I'm doing tonight. I'm getting an old composition book, and a pen and I'm going to try and get back to my more creative self. Hopefully by the end of the night, this will pay off and I'll have some decent somethings to show for my effort. Wish me luck......

3rd Party Cookies, and the Loss of my Poetic skills.......

So I recently discovered that I can't make comments on blogs unless I unblock cookies on my computer. I'm afraid of getting a virus so that isn't going to happen. Please don't take it personally.

In other news: Yesterday I got an unexpected email. It was a notification from Myspace telling me that someone had sent me a friend request. I haven't been on in ages! After retrieving my password, I logged in and looked around. My how things have changed!
Yesterday I posted a piece on here that I copied and pasted from Myspace. I wrote it four years ago. I wrote about how I couldn't believe that I had written it. It was pretty good! (in my opinion).  I'm still a bit upset that I haven't written anything to compare to it in four years! I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.I can't for the life of me figure out what I was doing differently back then. It's been driving me crazy!
My goal today (besides working on my resume) is trying to get back to where I was four years ago.
Wish me luck!!

Myspace work. WOW!!

So I just got an email notification that someone friended me on Myspace. I haven't been on there in forever. I had to reset my password just to log on. Once I did though, I realized that things had really changed! WOW! It looks like a completely different site now.
I had forgotten that I had written a couple of blog pieces on there way back in the day. Like three or four years ago. There was one that simmply blew me away. I was so much more poetic back then. I'm posting here now:


I'm in the process of writing a romance novel and the passage below is so far my favorite part of the book. I've never written a romance novel before so maybe you could read it, comment, and tell me what you think. Thanks!!



........Charles listened attentively to everything the beautiful young woman sitting across from him was saying. Her voice was like a cool breeze on a summer day. He tried not to get too distracted by the way her full lips moved seductively over her perfect white teeth as she spoke. When he first saw her standing at the counter ordering her drink, her shoulder length, ebony hair swaying poetically with her every move, he knew that he had to meet her. When she turned around to look for a seat and he got his first glimpse of her beautiful brown eyes and heart shaped, honey-colored face, he knew that he was a goner. She slowly began to make her way around the room in search of a place to sit. Her small toned body moved in a legato rhythm that his body had an immediate response to. Then, she was standing right next to him and he got a whiff of something heady and exotic. "You can sit here", he had said. When she sat, he got another whiff of that seductive scent she was wearing. As Charles sat listening to her words creating a verbal melody in his mind, he knew that some how he had to get to know her on an emotional level........

All I can say is WOOOOOW!!! I really need to get back to that point!

On The Hunt.....

So I'm looking for a new job. Well, not new as in "I'm quitting my current job". I mean new as in "job period".  I'm looking for something that I can do from home. At his age, there are no schools that I'm comfortable with putting my son in right now.  I'll need to stay home with him. 
Finding a legitimate work from home job is no easy feat! You have to wade through the skads of people trying to steal your money or identtiy. It's a nightmare!  I've been combing through sites all day, as well as building my resume; something I've never actually done. I simply wrote my job history down on a piece of paper that I keep handy in my wallet when I'm filling out job applications.
I've actually found a couple of good prospects. The usual medical transcriptionists jobs are available, as well as some writing jobs that look okay. : ) There are even some call center jobs that have home based oppurtunites.

In 2011 you would think that there would be more work from home options. So many people are always complaining about gas and commute times, and having to report to a boss. Almost everyone has at least a desktop computer available, and Internet access and there are wireless options available in loads of places. I just feel like there should be more options available. I could have done my last job from home. I wonder if they have any work from home jobs available.....

Anyway about writing:
I'm working on a new piece. It was inspired by the 4th of July holiday. It's actually coming along well. I'm still working on the various other pieces that I've mentioned in previous posts. As you can see, I have a lot on my plate. 

Motherhood and Writing

Being a writer and a mother at the same time is hard work! I don't know how other writer moms do it! My kid is three and he's at the "million question stage". He's got a million questions about EVERYTHING: "Mommy, what are you doing?", "Mommy, you want to play with me?", "Mommy, can I have chicken nuggets?", "Mommy, can I have a sticker?", "Mommy, what's that sound?", "Mommy, where's daddy?". They just go on and on and on and on and........
No matter how many times I answer his questions, he continues to ask the same ones. I know that kids are curious but geez Louise! This curious?! (Who is Louise, by the way?) Right now he's taking a nap so at least I have time to write this blog post.

Because I'm a stay at home mom, he doesn't go to school yet. I'm re-evaluating that decision, now. When I was working, he went to Pinecrest Children's Academy. Sounds prestigious, doesn't it? Don't let the name fool you. They weren't that great. He STAYED sick. Now, I'm looking into the Headstart program here, however the social workers and directors are pretty rude to you over the phone. Actually, when I visited, they were rude to my face. Needless to say, it doesn't make me want to send my child there!
If you are a parent and a writer, what are some ways that you juggle quality family time, and writing time?