Category Archives for Writing
The Search for Community as a Remote Professional Writer
Writing is a solitary activity, that’s for sure. And that solitude, for some people, can really help them feel productive and creative.
Even as an extrovert, I find that there are times that I need to be alone in order to get work done, whether it’s editing, writing, or communicating with the team at CYC.
Last summer, though, I reached a breaking point with my remote work lifestyle. It took a few months of working alone at home, or in coffee shops, all the time, for me to realize just how alone I truly felt.
One day it hit me: I’m not a person who enjoys working alone. I am not an introvert.
Being alone started to take a toll on my mental health and thus my ability to get work done. Lack of motivation, lack of energy, and general apathy started to take over, making projects that I loved to do very taxing and frustrating.
After lying in bed in the middle of a sunny summer afternoon—on a weekday—too many days in a row due to lack of energy, I knew something had to change. I needed to find some type of community to help me find that energy again.
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Is It Possible to Write at Your Worst Time of Day? Yes (and Here’s How)
If you’ve ever read any writing advice, you’ve probably heard that you should “write at your best time of day.”
On the face of it, this makes sense: Obviously, you’ll want to write at a time when you can easily focus, and produce scores of words almost effortlessly.
Most of the advice then focuses on how to figure out your best time of day, perhaps through energy mapping or some other means.
This is helpful up to a point, but …
… it doesn’t address the huge question of what to do when you can’t use your best time of day to write.
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The Writer’s Guide to Surviving Working Remotely
Working remotely is the norm for many writers, and while it carries many benefits, it can also be lonely and hard. With no team-building activities, no lunch breaks with co-workers, and often no human interaction at all, it’s easy for remote workers to get burned out and depressed—something I’ve experienced myself as a full-time, work-from-home freelance writer.
You probably already know many of the reasons working remotely is so great. You can set your own schedule, choose where you work, and skip the commute. But for the days when it seems too hard, here are a few ways to combat the tougher parts of a remote career.
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How To Choose the Best Font for Your Writing
Do you have a favorite font? Are you dedicated to Times New Roman, or are you more of an “anything-but-Wingdings” kind of writer? Maybe you haven’t given your choice of font much thought.
I used to fall into the latter category, until at university I heard about a guy who claimed that when he wrote his essays in the Georgia font, he got better grades than when he used other fonts. Now, I received this anecdote with a healthy dose of skepticism, but when you’re drowning in essay deadlines, anything is worth a try.
I did get some solid marks with Georgia, but there were too many factors at play for me to be able to attribute my success to the font. How much difference can a font really make?
As it turns out, more than you might think, and it’s not just about getting better grades.