Day 5

5. Write for 15 mins without stopping no matter if only gibberish comes out.

3...2...1...

Today was extremely rainy. Extremely overcast. Extremely good, actually. It was my first big work day in a while. But i managed to finish way ahead of my projected time. So, I rushed home, grabbed the dogs, and out we went for a little jog.

I am trying to get the dogs into better shape so we can actually go on decent length runs. Right now we are stuck at 2-2.5 miles. Which is fine for a day like today. I don't really want to be in the rain for very long after spending hours walking dogs in the morning. Getting the dogs out to run with me is a great way to get them tired and to bond. With all the work i put into other peoples dogs, it makes me sad that they don't always get the same attention.

The real bonding came after the run though. Of course, little roxie decided to roll in some disturbingly stenchy poop. Her favorite kind. We walked in the door and headed straight to the shower. I was planning on taking just roxie in, but rowdy had his own idea. It was an extremely crowded tub but I couldn't get mad at my pooches wanting to clean off with me.

The clean up was more than I bargained for and probably wont do that too often in the future, unless roxie keeps finding a stinky pile (we all know she will). At least she is clean now and i can enjoy her cuddles as I write this.

That story is over. I guess I can share some updates on how the dive into the writing world is going. Or not going.

On the positive, I am now going to be writing a column for the Fern Ridge Review. A tiny little veneta newspaper. It's not much, and I wont be getting paid. But once a month I will be able to produce something that is published, and that is a big step from where I was. The tall order of getting someone to give me a shot with hardly any published work has been even more difficult than I expected. There is a website, Upwork, that posts anything from full time positions to writing a 500 word about us story for a business on their website. When I heard of the site and read the reviews I thought it would be my ticket to building a portfolio that could eventually land me a full time copy job. So far, I have landed nothing. I'm not discouraged. I understand the business and my situation, I just wish someone would give me a shot on even the smallest of projects. I would put a heck of a lot more effort into it than someone who is landing 5 jobs on the site a week. I am working to make sure my cover letters and website support that claim, but I will have to keep pushing and editing my work until someone appreciates it.

On the plus side, I have experience on the horizon, and I can keep searching for those little unpaid things to get published and keep building. What's been driving me is knowing my writing could always be better, and its not a push to be the best writer. It's a push to be the best writer I can be, which is an achievable goal, and forever growing as I grow as a writer.


(don't judge this as a published piece of writing please) (I wasn't suppose to stop and edit anything)