Here Goes Something | On Writing

In the words of Nike and Shia LaBeouf, just do it (Yes, I’m aware that’s an outdated meme, but I still find it funny and relevant).

There’s a quote about how if you can’t go a day without thinking about something, you should never give it up. For me, that thing is writing. Specifically one day earning money from writing, and making it into a career. That’s the dream.

I’m currently a full time Literature and Creative Writing student, a degree that, while not necessary for a Freelance Writer, is directly related to my career goals (and my dreams, so, no biggie.) Thanks to this, I already do a fair bit of writing, a lot of reading, and a shitload of research. I think this prepares me for the harsh world of freelancing, but I can’t be too sure. I’ve been wanting to break into freelancing for months now, and every time I’ve sat down intending to make it happen, I’ve successfully avoided putting pen to paper, or rather, hands to keyboard. Considering how often I think about writing – on a daily basis – I know that this is what I want to do. I feel it in my bones. Or, my heart. Or, more logically, my head. You get the idea. It’s like this niggling feeling in the back of my mind, a desire, an ache almost, to write. I think many of us feel like this when it comes to creating and making. And I think many of us ignore it too. I get ideas, for poems, short stories, blog posts, and I’ll write those ideas down religiously. But making them a reality, even producing a rough draft, takes a ridiculous amount of effort. This is strange since writing is something I love doing and I wouldn’t want to pursue it as a career otherwise. I can’t imagine doing something I’m only mildly interested in, or worse, dislike, for a living. Not permanently. I know writing as a career, particularly freelancing, is far from easy, but for me the freedom and flexibility it grants is worth any struggle ten times over. The thing is, as a student, I’m not used to the daily grind of a 9-5 job. I’ve only ever worked part time and since starting uni I haven’t worked at all, outside of studying. I imagine it’ll be difficult to juggle both but I need to try and do so. It’s hard to know where to begin as a freelance writer, and there’s so much conflicting information out there, which only makes it more difficult. Do I refrain from writing more personal posts, both on my blog and social media? Do I need to make a writing website, or can I make it an addition to my blog? Do I need to make professional social media accounts, solely for my writing ‘business? I dislike the idea of referring to the thing I love doing as a ‘business’, but isn’t offering writing as a service doing just that? It’s all a tad confusing, but I have faith in myself. I’ve always been good at figuring things out for myself, and while it’s far from perfect, I have a knack for writing. I’m not going to undersell myself. If I tried to perfect my skills before going freelance, it’d be pointless, as I’d never be happy enough with my work, and besides, ‘perfect’ writing does not exist.

There’s never ‘a right time’ for anything, really, so you might as well jump straight in while you can! If you fail, you learn, so either way you grow. Staying stagnant does not help you improve. So, here I go, ready to jump straight into the world of freelancing, and write my own story. Making my love for words into a career is my dream, and if I don’t try to do it now, I might never do it at all! Let’s see where this takes me, shall we?

In the meantime, there’s going to be a few changes around here whilst I breathe some life back into the blog and freshen up my social media ready for this endeavour. It won’t be anything major, just look out for more polished content and posts about literature and writing!

– Amy x