Real Words

What writer doesn’t like to receive praise for his or her work? Even when you don’t agree with the person who is giving you props, you have to smile a little bit when someone sees value or talent in the creative efforts that you are putting forth. And if you take it with a grain of salt, this praise can be really inspiring. It may even make your work better.

Praise inspires me as a writer in the following ways:

• It makes me feel like continuing to work. I’d probably write without any recognition at all but getting that praise gives me an added boost of energy to sit down and do the writing.
• It points me in the right direction. I can often tell from praise whether something is worth following up on or whether I should let a topic go. Of course, sometimes my own creative impulses will drive these decisions but that input can inspire me to go further with a topic that I may have dropped otherwise.
• It challenges me to maintain a high standard. When someone has praised your work, you know that they are reading it. This inspires me to keep writing with an audience in mind. When it starts to feel like no one is paying attention anyway, we sometimes let our writing slip. That praise can bring your focus back to finetuning your writing.

And of course, it’s just a pleasant feeling to be acknowledged for your work. Go praise one of your favorite writers today; perhaps they’ll be inspired to write something magical.

Question of the Day: How does praise inspire or hinder your writing?

[Tags] writing, praise, acknolwedgment, reward, work [/Tags]

As mentioned earlier today, one of the news articles that caught my attention this weekend as the New York Times report called In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop. The article points to three different high-profile bloggers who have died (or nearly died) prematurely in recent months as a result of heart problems. Discussing the nature of blogging work in the modern world, the report indicates that blogging could be considered a high-stress job. Citing long work hours and the need to always be online to get the latest scoop, the article says that publishing daily on the web can be the cause of numerous different health problems.

As a professional web writer and blogger for more than five years, I’ve definitely experienced my moments of high stress. I can see where some of the points in the article come from, especially for those high profile bloggers that really need to work more-than-full-time to keep on top of their sites. But I don’t think that blogging has to be a stressful experience on the whole.

Here are some basic tips that the average blogger can use to reduce their daily stress:

• Set normal work hours. The biggest cause of blogging stress seems to come from the fact that bloggers are never NOT at work. They’re always on their computers, always researching the latest news for their blogs and always reading up on blogging information. Just like with any other job, doing it too much is going to cause you to burn out. You need to set some basic working hours for yourself and try to stick with them as much as possible. For some that’s going to be Monday - Friday from 9-5. For others it’s going to be Friday through Sunday from noon to midnight. (My schedule is generally Thursday through Monday from 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. although weekend hours are sometimes shorter.) The hours themselves don’t matter. What matters is that you set them, stick with them and make sure that you take some time off.
• Take tech-free days. When I say that bloggers need to take time off, I mean that they need to get away from all technology for at least one full day each week. That means that you turn off the computer. You don’t use your mobile phone to update things via Twitter. You choose some form of mental escape that isn’t the television. The first few times that you do this, it may actually be more stressful to you but once you get in the habit of really taking some downtime, you’ll be glad that you did. Your body will thank you for it. And so will the earth!
• Hire some help. One of the things that was highlighted in the New York Times article was that bloggers frequently feel that they need to be online all of the time so that they don’t miss the latest news. This applies primarily to news and politics bloggers but can also impact people such as technology and celebrity bloggers. Basically, the idea is that if you aren’t there to post the latest news, your site is going to suffer since someone else will get to it first and get the attention of those seeking immediate information. If this is the case for you, consider hiring some blogging help to make sure that nothing is missed and your stress levels will go down. Think you can’t afford it? It’s a business expense and if you’re this serious about blogging, you need to treat your work like a business.
• Get organized. A whole lot of blogging stress can be reduced if you’re organized about your work. This includes everything from getting your work space cleaned up to creating a business plan for your blog. The more clearly you’ve delineated what needs to be done, the more efficiently you’ll be able to do it and the less stress you’ll expose yourself to.
• Eat right. Most of the bloggers and at-home writers that I know fail to take basic proper care of themselves. This is particularly true when it comes to food. Either they forget to eat throughout the day because they’re tied to their computers or they munch all day long on bad snacks because they’re home and therefore they can. Make sure that you take time to eat good full meals throughout the day. If you’re body is healthy, it handles stress better.
• Socialize with other bloggers. Blogging stress is exacerbated by the fact that you probably sit at home, on your own, stewing in your own brain. Sometimes, you just need to vent about things in order to relax. And who is better at understanding that than another blogger. Don’t use social networks and forums as your sole source of doing this, though. Believe it or not, people really need human interaction. Join or start a group for bloggers in your area and meet with them a few times a month to chill things out in your life.
• Create a budget and a savings account. One of the largest sources of stress for most bloggers is the money situation. For most bloggers, earnings go up when two things happen: the blogger is insanely prolific and writes all of the time and/or the blogger is a genius at gaining advertising and marketing revenue. These two things take up a lot of time and energy … but more importantly, they’re often not consistent. It can cause a lot of panic to a blogger to think about taking a week off of work because it can mean a significant drop in revenue. You simply can’t control what’s going on in the blogging market all of the time. But you can control your own finances! Create and stick by a workable budget so that you can start saving up some money. A savings account in the bank can do wonders for reducing blogging stress.
• Blog about what you love. Many bloggers end up writing about topic areas that they like but don’t love. If you are going to immerse yourself in a topic day in and day out, you’d better love it. If you don’t, the idea of going to work is going to be stressful for you even if that work is done in your own home.
• Take a moment each day to focus on why you love blogging. Many bloggers wake up, grab their cup of coffee and dig into their work. By taking just a few moments each morning to reflect on what you love about blogging, you can really boost your own ability to appreciate what you’re doing with your time. Those few moments might just save your life.
• Listen to your own needs. Your body and mind will tell you when the stress is getting to you. Pay attention to yourself in order to make sure that you’re not letting the stress of blogging get to you.

Blogging - and web writing in general - is a terrific job. But like all jobs, it has its pros and cons. You need to reduce the cons - such as stress - if you’re going to maximize the benefits of the job. Taking care of yourself, listening to your own needs and lightening up a little about your work is going to help you to enjoy the world of blogging a whole lot more!

Question of the Day: What is the biggest source of stress that you feel about web writing … and what do you do to counter its effects?

[Tags] writing, blogging, stress, heart attack, death, tips, freelance, web 2.0 [/Tags]

It is easy to get lost along the way during the course of being a writer. This fact is true whether you write novels or write for the web, whether you write for fun or you write to put food on the table. Writer’s block will throw itself in your path. Self-doubt will creep into your writing world. And every day you will need to make the choice to continue writing despite the difficulty of it.

Here are 25 simple mantras that you can keep in mind to keep you writing when the writing gets tough to do:

1. I can write.
2. I will know more tonight than I did when I woke up this morning.
3. My own writing voice is good enough.
4. The right words are just around the corner.
5. Reading is research.
6. It’s okay if the draft isn’t terrific.
7. My opinion matters more than my critics’ opinion.
8. I can write something else tomorrow.
9. It’s okay to be friends with other writers.
10. I only need to sit and write – the rest will work itself out.
11. My writing is good enough to serve fair pay.
12. My perspective is unique; sharing it adds to the world.
13. I write because I enjoy writing.
14. Writing is the way that I understand the world around me.
15. Inspiration is a jewel to be treasured and carried within me each day.
16. It’s okay to feel like a mess.
17. The most well-known writers have felt bad about their work.
18. There is a way to do this writing thing that will work for me.
19. Creativity is a worthy use of my time.
20. I can say “no” if I don’t want to waste my time writing something.
21. My writing will change with time.
22. Putting my writing out into the world may affect others in ways I’ll never know.
23. It’s important to listen to my instincts about writing.
24. I deserve to take time out each day to write.
25. I will write.

It’s the simple things that matter each day. We need to walk into our experiences with the mindset that it’s perfectly okay to do what we are doing and that how we are doing it is good enough for today. The world is tough enough; don’t make it harder by being unkind to yourself or your writing. Remember that when you are sitting down at the desk to write something that’s not working for you. And then just sit and write.

Question of the Day: What mantra gets you to the next step in writing?

[Tags] writing, affirmations, mantra, motto, sayings, inspiration [/Tags]

One of the most frustrating things that happens regularly to freelancers is that they take the time to apply for a job and then find out that it was a scam. In bad cases, this can lead to both money and time lost. And even when it doesn’t get that bad, it does make you feel like you wasted a lot of energy on an application for nothing. Plus it just leaves a bitter taste in the mouth when the people in your chosen freelance field are scamming you and your peers in the industry.

Following you’ll find ten signs that indicate that a freelance job offer that you’re looking at might be a scam. This doesn’t mean that every job post that meets one of these qualifications is indeed a scam but rather that you should proceed with caution when applying for any job that seems like it falls into one of these categories. There are certainly good jobs out there that might fall prey to one of the mistakes outlined here so don’t dismiss them immediately but definitely protect yourself when you’re applying for these jobs.

The top ten signs that a freelance job might be a scam are:

1. It sounds too good to be true. This is the biggest indicator that a freelance job isn’t going to turn into a true, steady, lucrative opportunity for you. If the rate being offered is ridiculously high, if they’re saying that they’re going to give you all sorts of benefits for what seems like very little work or if something else causes you to leap at the opportunity then there’s a good chance that something is a little “off” about the job. Great freelance jobs do come along but they usually require hard work for fair or above-average pay.

2. The ad contains a link to an outside site where the additional information can be obtained. This is one that primarily refers to freelance gigs placed on Craigslist and it’s one that doesn’t always hold true. People sometimes do link out to their professionally websites where they have posted more details on the work. However, scammers also frequently link to “more details” which turns out to be a job bidding board or a site that you have to pay to apply through. The main warning sign to look out for is that scams will normally hyperlink within the text (as in This is a Great Freelance Job) whereas legitimate links will be posted outright (as in visit us at www.ourbusiness.com).

3. The ad or initial email from the business requests a highly specific writing sample. Most places should be content with your existing writing samples if they are relevant to the job. Some legitimate places do have writing tests which you’ll have to decide whether or not you want to invest time in. However, these tests should always be fairly basic (“write 500 words on a topic related to fashion”). When a company requests writing samples that have a very specific format, use of specific keywords a certain number of times or links to specific business, there’s a good chance that they are trying to get you to unwittingly do free work for them that they’re going to make money off of without ever hiring you. One thing that I’ve found useful in cases such as these is that you can offer to write the first paragraph of the piece with the specifications required and explain that you don’t want to give away more work than that for free. A legitimate company will take you up on that in most cases.

4. The ad says it’s great for “students”, “work at home moms”, “SAHMs”, or “new writers”. That may be true. It may be a job that’s willing to offer you pay that’s fair compensation for your experience when you don’t have a lot of writing experience yet. But it could also mean that they want you to do a whole lot of work for not much money at all so you should proceed with caution.

5. The ad exaggerates how great the company or publication is. Any ad that says “we are going to be bigger than Rolling Stone” or “you could make thousands of dollars in revenue because our site is so awesome” or anything like that is probably a site that’s not going to be great for you. Sure, there are emerging sites that are eventually going to be big names. But a truly good company advertises for the writers it needs right now (and may say “potential for growth”) not for the expectations the company has for down the line. In most cases, these aren’t scams in the traditional sense but instead reflect businesses that don’t have a realistic approach to their development – and that can mean that you might not get paid.

6. Misspellings and typos in the ad. One does happen now and then but if you’re looking at an ad from someone who obviously didn’t proofread and who has a lot of spelling or grammar errors, you may want to think twice. It just speaks to the professionalism of the business which can also speak to the likelihood that you’re going to get paid on time and at a good rate.

7. You’ve seen the ad a dozen times before. Chances are that you look at the same job boards and job links sites again and again. (Hopefully one of those is the weekend job links that are provided here on Real Words every Saturday and Sunday!) If you do, you’ve probably noticed that there are one or two jobs that seem to be posted all of the time. Maybe the wording changes a little bit you’ve come to recognize the ad. Even though it’s well-written and seems fair, this could be a warning sign that it’s really a scam.

8. Information in the ad is minimal and the company doesn’t have a website. Not all businesses or clients that are going to hire you will have a website. However, the combination of a non-informative ad and a lack of website info could indicate that you’re looking at a scam. Make sure that you get detailed information and a contract before signing up to work with a company in this kind of situation,

9. Requirement that you sign up for a website. Sometimes you’ll apply for a job that seems totally legitimate and then you’ll be told that you need to sign up for a website that they operate in order to continue being considered for the job. In many cases, this will be a site with a forum which they’ll ask you to leave comments on, supposedly as a form of writing sample. Usually, this turns out to be a case in which the company is really looking to boost activity on its site and forums and doesn’t turn into a paying job. There are some legitimate jobs that ask you to sign up for a free account on their sites but you should be wary of any sites that require you to create extensive profiles or post comments anywhere.

10. You have to pay for anything. There are a myriad of different versions of this scam but in the end the warning is the same: don’t do it. You should never have to pay someone to get yourself a paying writing job.

As noted before, a job that has one or two of these problems isn’t necessarily a scam. It’s just a warning sign to really think carefully when applying for these jobs. Don’t let yourself get swept away by the need for money or the appeal of what sounds like a job that is too good to be true. Proceed with caution and protect your own work so that these scammers can’t continue to invade the industry.

Question of the Day: What has been the worst freelance scam you got caught in?

[Tags] writing, freelance, scam, tips, jobs, gigs [/Tags]

I am currently in the process of reading Creativity for Life: Practical Advice on the Artist’s Personality, and Career from America’s Foremost Creativity Coach. The book itself, written by San Francisco based creativity and life coach Eric Maisel, is about the difficulties that an artist faces after choosing to devote a life to a creative career. However, at the beginning of the book, Maisel mentions that there are three different things that we might mean when we talk about an artistic life. Those three things are intertwined for most artists but are worth taking a closer look at on their own: 

1. Artful Living. This describes the act of trying to infuse artistic creativity into everything you do. It’s about being creative in the way that you parent, in the re-using that you do to recycle items around the home, in the meals that you make for yourself and others. It’s about taking each moment of the day and trying to approach it with your own creative vision at its core. (Another great book specifically about this is Living Artfully: Create the Life You Imagine.)
2. Art-Filled Living. This refers to the way that we try to fill our days with art. We visit bookstores and art galleries, we play music in our homes and attend concerts when we can, we watch fashion shows on television in order to be creatively inspired. These are the ways that we bring art into our every day life in order to be able to see the world with a broader creative perspective. This is of utmost important to developing creativity because without constantly refilling our own creative wells, our sources of inspiration may run dry.
3. An Art-Committed Life. This is what the bulk of Maisel’s book is about and it refers to the life that we live once we have chosen to actually make art as a living for what we hope will be the rest of our lives. It is about art as a way of life and not just a part of life.

We may find that all three artistic ways of living apply to us. We may find that only one is really a part of our lives on a regular basis. And we may find that although we have one of these in life, we aren’t embodying the other as much as we would like. (For example, you may bring a lot of art into your life but not approach life as creatively as you would like so you have an art-filled life but not an artful one.) By examining these different methods of filling our lives with art, we can make wiser choices in how artfully we want to spend our days.

Question of the Day: Which of these art lives is most important?

[Tags] art, creativity, inspiration, artful, living, choices [/Tags]

Writers need to explore visual creativity. Or maybe that’s not true of all writers but it’s certainly true for me. There are just times when the words get to be too much; times when I can’t think straight because there are just too many words and word choices and ideas expressed in language. When it gets to be that way, I turn to visual art. Sometimes I play around with it myself as a means of new expression. And sometimes I just observe it and enjoy it and try not to think about it in words.

Collage art has always been my favorite form of visual art in terms of how I like to creatively express myself. I like the cutting and pasting of different images to create something new. It seems to translate to what we do regularly as writers; we recraft the same themes in different ways so that they look new and make more sense and strike us differently. And collage art can also be meditative - taking apart, reassembling, shaping, changing …

In playing with collage art over the past few days, I rediscovered the art of the altered book. I had explored altered book art a few years ago because several friends left over from me penpalling days had started to get into making this kind of art. For those who don’t know, it’s the taking apart and changing of books. Sometimes the artists merely paints the pages of the book or collages over them. Other times, the book is cut or burned and reshaped into a new design. Many times, found objects become part of the collaged piece; it starts with a book as three dimensional canvas and becomes a work of art.

At the time, I didn’t get into doing this type of collage myself. For one thing, I had something of an inhibition about tearing up books. Sure, it was re-using them and re-purposing them and that’s fine. But I couldn’t quite bring myself to deface the books I owned. And I also was exploring photocollages at the time and felt that’s where my own artistic inclinations were best expressed. However, I’m seeking something new these days for creative expression and think that altered books might be a good step forward for me.

I have a bunch of books that I’m done with. They aren’t worth keeping around and they have no monetary value for resale. They aren’t in good enough condition to give them as gifts. And I don’t believe in just throwing books away. So perhaps trying my hand at some altered book art is a good choice right now. More importantly,  I’ve recently discovered a new type of altered book art that I hadn’t seen previously. It’s called “found poetry”.

The artist chooses words on the page of the book to create a poem. The other words on the page are scratched out or painted over or collaged on top of. The poetry words stand out amidst an artistic creation. I’ve always loved the pairing of poetry with images. I’ve always liked collages that incorporated text. And I enjoy the idea of using words already on a page to create something that reads entirely differently than the original author intended. It’s an interesting creative challenge and one that I think can be used to open up new channels of thinking, a means of allowing new creative ideas to flourish.

Question of the Day: What experiences with altered book art can you share?

Related links:  Altered Books by Judi Riesch, Karen’s Whimsy Altered Books, The Importance of Collage Art, Altered Book Artists

[Tags] altered book, art, creativity, writing, collage, books [/Tags]

I have more than enough freelance work. Despite this, I check out the ads for new freelance writing jobs nearly every day. I probably apply to new positions a few times per week. Is this a case of “the grass is always greener”? Not necessarily.

I believe that the key to being a successful freelancer is to challenge yourself to regularly rise higher in the business. This means finding jobs that you like more and which pay you more than the jobs which you currently have. While you may be content with the work that you’re doing, it may be the case that there are better jobs out there for you. I believe that it’s important to always work to find those jobs.

Unfortunately, what sometimes happens is that too many job applications get approved at once. That was the case for me this week when I discovered that I’d been hired for multiple new positions. Some of those I am excited about, others I’m waiting to see on and a couple of them I rejected off the bat. I’ve said before that I believe freelancing is a lot like dating; I’m in that stage of “first dates” with several new jobs and am trying to see which ones will become relationships and which ones will fizzle out.

It’s been a stressful week. However, it’s been a good week in that I was able to eliminate some work that I hadn’t been excited about because I got new work that’s more satisfying. Transitions are never easy but they’re what makes you move forward in the experiences that you’re undertaking. I have never been one who wanted to be stagnant and I continue to believe that aiming for the moon will land you amongst the stars.

Question of the Day: How often do you fill out new freelance job applications?

Make sure to check out this weekend’s list of freelance jobs here.

[Tags] freelance, applications, job, employment, writing, work [/Tags]

I’m normally very good at reading my own signals and knowing when it’s time for the work day to end. However, there are always those days when there is more work than you can get done before your writing light burns out. If you’re not tuned into what’s going on with yourself, you can cause yourself to get exhausted and to tap out your creativity. This results in poor work and a sense of frustration.

Here are some signs that it’s time to stop writing for the day even if there is more work that needs to be done:

• You’re making typos that you don’t normally make. If your fingers are tripping over the keyboard, you might want to think about whether you’re really maximizing your time.
• You’ve decided to stop proofreading your own work. I’m normally highly conscientious of proofreading all work before sending it to a client or posting it on a blog. If I find that I’m not inclined to care so much about the quality of my finished product, then I know that it’s time to be done for the day. I really do only want to put my best writing work out there for others to see.
• You hate your job. Most freelancers love their jobs. However, they have days when they start to hate the work that they’re doing. Unless this is a symptom of ongoing discontent requiring a true job shift (which you’ll know internally) it’s probably a sign that you just need to take a break.
• You’re snapping at the people around, you’re crying or you’re otherwise emotionally expressing frustration. Sometimes we do this and don’t even blame it on the job. If you’re not normally this kind of person, ask yourself if the work is the real problem.
• You can’t pull yourself away from the computer even though you know you’re done. If you’ve already conceded somewhere inside that you’re tapped out, you might find yourself trying to convince your body to keep on working. If you’re already having that internal conversation then you should probably be thinking about hitting that shutdown key.

When the writing work is getting too tough, it’s okay to throw in the towel. Sometimes it’s better to let our brains rest and to do better work the following day than to try and get too much done within the deadline. Of course, it’s ideal to pace your week properly so that you don’t face this kind of exhaustion. But it’s important to realize that sometimes you’re going to have these kinds of days and that you need to deal with them properly. Be kind to yourself; the rest of the world might not be but you can always make the effort.

Question of the Day: How do you know that it’s time to stop writing for the day?

Related links: 3 Things I Learned From My Girlfriend This Week, 5 Signs It’s Time to Stop Writing, When to Take a Break

Recommended books: Finding Water: The Art of Perseverance, Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Restaurant Reviews, Articles, Memoir, Fiction and More

[Tags] writing, freelance, tired, exhausted, work, employment, habits, rituals, work at home [/Tags]

I am one of those people who reads more than one book at a time. The benefit to this (besides that I don’t get bored with what I’m reading) is that the books often link together in my mind to provide me with ideas that are bigger than what is presented within just one book. That’s been the case this week as I’ve read two books about creativity and one about simplifying life.

These are the three books I’m reading right now and what other writers might get out of reading them:

1. Getting Unstuck Without Coming Unglued: A Woman’s Guide to Unblocking Creativity by Susan O’Doherty. This is a self-help type of book for the creative person who is feeling blocked. Although I don’t feel that at this current time, I think it’s always beneficial to work through writing exercises in these types of books. This one takes the approach of asking you to do one exercise per chapter (things like figuring out what people negatively impacted your creative process at a young age). It provides the stories of multiple women to assist you in understanding how others might work through this. This book is intended for women and is best for those women who are helped my a psychological, therapeutic, self-help approach to tackling their creative problems.
2. The Zen of Creativity: Cultivating Your Artistic Life by  John Daido Loori. At the other end of the spectrum is a book on creativity that takes a zen approach to art. In fact, the bulk of the book seems to be about teaching you how to practice zen meditation and to bring yourself to a place of stillness. The underlying foundation here is the belief that if you can be still, you can hear your artist’s heart and really bring yourself to the core of your artistic self. This book is good for people who are interested in a spiritual approach to creativity.
3. The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less by Barry Schwartz. This book isn’t about creativity per se. What it’s about is understanding how the availability of so many choices can effectively immobilize us in our lives. In a way, this ties in to the zen book. It’s got a theme of appreciating choice but also letting some of the decision-making go. It’s about living a simpler life so that you have the time and energy for other things, things like art. It’s the kind of book that helps me as a writer to remember what’s important to my creativity and what is just fluff on the edges.

These are just three books about creativity. I’m always looking for others and would welcome your suggestions here!

Related links: Susan O’Doherty, John Daido Loori, Barry Schwartz

[Tags] creativity, zen, self-help, writing, books, reading, recommendations [/Tags]

Even as a writer, there are things that you can do on a regular basis to make the way that you work a little bit more friendly to the environment.

Here are eight ways that you can start to “green” your writing:

1. Write about green issues. Even if you don’t get paid. One of the most important things that any writer can do is to educate others about the issues that matter to them. Make it a point to write one green article each week providing information to others about how to live green. If you can’t get them published, see if you can post them as guest posts on blogs to spread the word and help green the world.
2. Take “no tech” days. Writers, especially web writers, spend a whole lot of time online which means they’re spending time using up energy. I know that my work day usually involves running one, if not two, computers as well as exchanging tech messages and keeping either music or television on in the background. But every Tuesday, I take a “no technology” day. I turn off (and unplug) my computer and other electronic devices. I don’t replace them with television or other tech toys. This is good for me because it allows me to spend the day being creative without electronic distractions. And it’s good for the environment that all of my gadgets are turned off.
3. Get into green computing. There are a plethora of different ways that you can make your computer more enironmentally-friendly. Learn about them and implement them. Get an energy-efficient computer; refill ink cartridges instead of sending them to the landfill; do all the day’s printing at once and keep the printer unplugged the rest of the day. These little things add up to big energy savings.
4. Recycle, buy recycled and re-use. You use a lot of items in your writing. Paper, organizing folders, and other items can be bought “recycled”. When you’re done, you can recycle them again. Don’t just send them to the recycling plant either; if you can use them in a new way in your own home, go that route first. It’s amazing what you can recycle; just consider all of these alternative uses for old pens. And remember to recycle your electronics when they’re old; here’s how.
5. Think about reducing your waste as you work. I know that I print out papers that I don’t need to print out. And I get bags for the ink cartridges I just purchased when I could just put them in my purse. Slowly, I’m learning to think before taking each action and consider how it impacts the environment around me.
6. Add or remove a layer of clothing. Many of us work from home. What happens is we get adjusted to the temperature and start to feel cooler or warmer with the weather outside. This means that people who work at home tend to climate control their homes like crazy, turning up the AC or heat. Avoid doing this if you work from home by adding or removing a layer of clothing instead of using these devices.
7. Purchase all of your writing supplies on a green credit card. You should always make all work purchases on a single credit card because then it’s easier to track them and makes doing taxes much simpler. Why not make that card a “green” card which donates money to a charity whenever you make a purchase.
8. Remember that your writing is a gift. You think of it as work but it’s something that’s to be treasured. When the holidays come around, stop buying material things that are going to end up in the dump. Start using your writing to craft letters, love notes, stories and scrapbooks - gifts that your loved ones will treasure forever (and gifts that take up a lot less space on earth than what we usually buy!)

Not all of these things are going to be easy for everyone, but trying to incorporate them into your life in some way will help make you a greener writer. For example, you might not be interested in writing one full article each week about a green issue. However, you can probably work a green tip into one line of an article that you’re already writing anyway. Little changes are what make big differences in the world around us.

Question of the Day: What one green thing can you do as a writer to leave less of an eco-footprint on the world?

Related links to other people’s work: Ideal Bite (easy ways to green your daily life), The EcoFriendly writer, where to purchase an Eco-friendly pen, and Green Writer Marketplace (green job leads)

[Tags] green, writing, eco-friendly, green writer, environment, recycle [/Tags]

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