Hey.
It’s been a while. Let’s do this for real this time.
So there’s been some big shifts happening, both internal and external. The world is on fire and there’s a global pandemic that isn’t letting up, but you already knew that. Because of this and because the time that we all have here is limited, I took the significant and terrifying leap and quit my 9-5 day job. It’s honestly the best decision I’ve made for my own mental health.
For some background, I’ve worked since I was 18. After I graduated college in 2014/15, I started an internship at a small, Philly-based music website where I worked for two years. I then started doing freelance writing on the side in addition to working a day job. My last two day jobs were office jobs with benefits and everything, but there have been some personal events that have caused me to do some serious introspection into what I actually want to spend my time doing and what I’m capable of doing with my time that’ll not only bring me joy, but will also broaden my skill set and allow me to earn a decent income. [some questions that came up during introspection]
Now I‘m a full-time freelance writer, which is really damn sick and also really damn terrifying. I’m on my second week of this and there’s so many kinks I have to work out, but I finally have the time and energy to do ALL THE CREATIVE THINGS, which includes being intentional with the platform that I have and creating a space —the space being this blog—to share more aspects about my process, share wisdom on lessons I’ve learned being a professional writer for a few years now, and what goes on in this weird brain, among other things.
process/behind the scenes
I love seeing into the process behind how things are created, particularly written work, so I want to do that here with my own work and give a glimpse into a few aspects of writing an editorial piece, from ideation to publication. This will include the interviews I’ve done for Bitch Media, some essays I’ve written for Electric Literature, and others.
in-depth book thoughts
For those who haven’t checked it out, I have an Instagram account under @winestainedreader where I post all things literature, including thoughts on books I’ve read. There are times, though, where I want to discuss a work more deeply, especially books I’ve read that really resonate with me. Knowing how weird the Instagram algorithm is and knowing that not everyone likes a super long caption, I plan on making posts here in this space with my thoughts on literature that resonates with me. This could be book thoughts on single works, poetry analysis, or individual posts dedicated to authors and writers that I deeply connect with, including Fariha Róisín, Larissa Pham, Kali Fajardo-Anstine, and others.
self-reflections, introspections, and cool shit
AKA things I can’t stop thinking about, articles/essays/poems I found online that I love, news/pop culture that I love/loathe/can’t seem to wrap my head around, moments of unlearning or learning, advice on life, etc. This will basically be where I share the introspective/self-growth tidbits with a side of words I’m obsessed with at the moment.
advice on freelance writing
I have learned so much in my writing career so far (and I still feel like it’s only the beginning), so I want to share the things I’ve learned because we don’t gatekeep in this space. These posts will contain advice and tips I’ve learned so far that I wish I had known when I started freelance writing.
???
Life is wild and unexpected things can happen, so there can easily be posts that aren’t under a category. Surprises possibly abundant.
I hope to create a space that holds joy, enlightenment, insight, and community, so please feel free to either leave a comment below or hop into my contact page and send a note with any questions or suggestions for things you want me to cover that could be valuable.
I’m super jazzed about this and I hope you are too, especially if you made it this far.
All my love,
