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How to Unleash Your Creativity and Let Your Writer’s Spirit Soar

Carol Tice

When you’re a writer, there’s no such thing as wasted time. Everything you do enhances your craft, in the end.

An example:

On one of the last warm days of our endless Northwest Indian summer this year, I played hooky from work for a couple hours in the afternoon.

I had an important task to attend to: My lithe, athletic 9-year-old daughter wanted me to climb a tree with her.

She’d been just about living in a tree all summer, and wanted us to do this together.

The weather forecast indicated this would probably be the last unseasonably warm day before fall finally arrived. So it needed to happen now.

I was a little scared to attempt it.

Though I loved tree-climbing as a child and spent many hours in the branches of one of my girlfriend’s big maple trees, it had been a few decades since I’d left the ground.

I couldn’t get up the first one we tried. Which was sorta sad.

But I didn’t give up

On the far side of the park we found another tree with a better array of low branches, and after a little huffing and puffing, I was up.

For the first time in decades, I was in a tree.

And it was grand.

I could see all across the park, over rolling lawns to where a stand of trees showed the beginnings of autumn colors. Birds circled by.

The wind seemed so mild and fair, from this height. The impossible late-October sunshine so warm.

I was out on a limb

Which felt scary, but also exhilirating.

Could I get down? I had visions of tumbling out onto my head, which would no doubt happen just as neighbors walked their dog past.

I had Ariella lead the way through the descending levels of branches. Then, suddenly, I found out why I’d come.

“You climb down so fast,” I remarked, struggling to keep up.

“My spirit climbed down even faster!” she replied matter-of-factly, as she expertly navigated the final branches. “Look, mommy — it’s already down to the ground.”

I have no doubt she saw that vision, of her spirit roaming free.

When’s the last time I felt that, I wondered.

I realized I needed to schedule more time like this. Time to take risks.

Play hooky. Live a little.

We should always be expanding our notion of who we are and what we’re capable of, in our lives away from the computer.

Of how far our spirit can fly.

Then, we can approach that blank page — or screen — ready to pour our souls into it.

What’s made your spirit soar recently? Leave a comment – I’d love for you to share it.

20 Ways to Find Freelance Writing Jobs for Beginners

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Best Freelance Writing Jobs for Beginners. Makealivingwriting.com

Right now, a record-high number of people are considering a freelance writing career. My inbox is overflowing with questions from newbies. And the first question is: “Where can I find freelance writing jobs for beginners?”

If that’s you, sending hugs! I totally feel your confusion. The freelance marketplace is a big, complicated place. There are lots of types of paid writing, and different kinds of clients, too.

I’ve been helping writers get started for a dozen years now. And I know how mystifying it can be. You feel like there’s a door you need to find, a person you need to know, a secret you must unlock to become a freelance writer.

But really, the path to freelance writing jobs for beginners is simple.

You need to find someone willing to let you write for them. That’s it.

You get a few samples and boom — you have a portfolio to show. And you’re on your way.

There are fairly simple, break-in writing assignments that newbies tend to get. I’m going to outline what they are below.

But first, I need to explain something…

How to Write a Personal Narrative (And Why It’s So Important)

How to Write a Personal Narrative (And Why It’s So Important)

The purpose of a personal narrative is to describe a specific story in your life. No matter who you are, you have a plethora of life experiences, events, and stories that can be crafted into a compelling personal narrative for use in an article, blog post, case study, etc.

Writing an Article vs. Writing a Blog Post: What’s the Difference?

Writing an Article vs. Writing a Blog Post: What’s the Difference?

Ever wonder what the difference is between writing an article and writing a blog post? It’s a topic that comes up a lot when people ask how to become a freelance writer. Besides style and research, you might be surprised by one of the key differences between blogs and articles.