So its been a week since my creative epiphany. The world hasn’t changed, but my outlook on it has.

It’s been pretty slow at my regular job, so I’ve had quite a bit of time to research in and around everything freelance. Some projects have worked well and given me lots to think about. Some have led me down interesting yet fruitless rabbit holes, as is the way of the internet. But overall I would call this week a success. Why? Because that bubbling energy I felt when writing my first post, that tangible almost static excitement, is still here. Every article I read, every note I take, just enhances the motivation to make this happen and make it happen now. I am Donnie Darko looking at the threads of the future, (obscure 90’s reference: check) seeing this moment, this mindset, as the starting point for something game changing.

So what has my time consisted of this week? My head has been full of giant ideas and creative motivation, so my main focus this week has been on trying to pin down exactly what I need to do to start the ball rolling. And trying to work out in what direction said ball needs to roll.

‘Freelance Writing’ as an overall idea is great, but under that enormous umbrella are hundreds of different avenues one could pursue. Some areas I know nothing about, such as SEO or Copywriting (still unsure what that actually is). Some areas I have no interest or background in, such as Crypto blogging or TikTok ad marketing. But in that middle ground between what I am interested in, what I have some experience in and what I consider my skills as a writer… there is a still a massive list of possibilities.

Do I want to write short online content about skiing in Canada? Do I want to get into TTRPG game design and start writing for DMs guild? Do I want to write review articles about new books? or edit/ghost write resumes on Upwork? Having a myriad of possibilities is exciting, for sure, but the more options there are- the harder it is to know where to start.

the first stepping stone

One thing that has been really helpful to focus my pinball mind this week is SkillShare. I had been putting off buying a subscription for years: $200+ just seemed a little steep for something I was sure I would use once and then forget about, but as part of my commitment to making this change a reality, I bit the bullet and finally signed up. (the 50% off discount code they currently have up also helped with that decision).

Disclaimer: this is not an add for SkillShare, nor am I in any way affiliated. But as part of this project I want to document what exactly I am learning, how I am doing so, how these things help to direct me down path, and ultimately where those paths lead.

This week I have completed 3 SkillShare classes:

The first was an introduction to the world of freelance writing as a career; a sort of ‘what, where and how’ on different areas of the industry. It gave me a good overview of some of the main areas, and an extensive list of things to research further, such as; how much freelancers get paid for different projects, what is copy writing, how to invoice a client and so on. It has some good tips for marketing yourself, which I will go back to at a later date, once I have something to market and I know who I want to be marketing to.

The next two classes were focused on creativity and how to decide on a creative career path. What I considered ‘side project/fun’ classes actually turned out to be incredibly helpful, with both classes not only inspiring me to write, but helping me map out specific, achievable goals and create detailed, time specific plans to start making things happen. Having the dichotomy of “how to practically do this” and “think about your creative goals” has made me see this whole process as more than just ‘the way I want to start making my money’, and has me asking questions like “What am I genuinely interested in? What would my dream creative job be? And how do I get from here to there”.

Goal Setting

One process I plan to keep using, is to set yourself specific goals laid out in 3 month increments. “What do you want to accomplish this year?” seems like a massive questions, with so much room for change, but “what do you want to do in the next three months?”, is much easier to envisage.

By splitting the year into 3 month blocks (“quarters” if we’re getting fancy), you leave room to change and adapt the plan in response to how things are going, and I now have a concrete list of things to do and an order in which to get them done. Writing down lofty, one day dream goals is still helpful, like “write for WOTC”, which now has its own dedicated page in my notebook, but things like “create a website” and “start a portfolio” have a more achievable and practical purpose.

The first 3 month plan:

So this is what my first 3 month plan looks like. I am not sure how long many of these things will take, and I am positive I will be moving some goals around by the end of July, that is the way of life, but it feels good to have a concrete plan, set out over a defined period of time that I can use to keep me on track and keep me moving in the right direction.

Andy J made a point in his class of writing down your “one day dream” goals, to define them in your mind and keep them as a point to work towards over the years, so lets include these here for comparison’s sake:

The First stumbling block

As promised, I aim to be open and honest with this project, and a summary wouldn’t be complete without a few words on what didn’t go to plan.

I have yet to actually complete any pieces of work, from start to finish, edits and all, so I have currently made no progress on the portfolio side of this project. I have a few starts, some middles, and whole bunch of ideas, but nothing I can set aside as finished work.

I am very good at procrastinating with research to the point of inaction, and I am aware that talking about doing something and actually doing it are two different things. This is only week 1 however, so we are not calling this a failure, but it is something to note moving forward. Work doesn’t do itself, no matter how much you talk about it.

Next steps

#1: Start this blog!

I am currently writing these words on Scrivener, for my eyes only, and I think that the next major step I need to take, is to start putting the tings I write out into the world.

Excluding one entry into NYC Midnight last year, I have never posted anything written under my own name for others to read. The idea of someone I know reading something I have written terrifies me, and even worse is the idea that people I don’t know will read it and then offer me feedback on what I did wrong. Shudder!

But writing things for other people to read is quite literally the name of the game here. So this is something I am going to have to get over, and get over fast.

There are some important things I need to research about blogging before I start: like how and where to host a website and how to actually set up a blog, but most of it I can pick up along the way. This whole project is about documenting my process from point zero, and my point zero right now is not knowing any of this stuff.

So we will work with what we have, and see where this takes us.