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Writing Etc. – February 1, 2006

ISSN: 1545-5580

Tips, Techniques, and Resources to Transform You From An Average

Freelancer to A Highly Paid Professional.

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To subscr*ibe to Writing Etc. and receive the fr*e e-book, “Power Queries,” surf here:

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Notes from Minnesota

Dissolving Your Comfort Zone by Beth Ann Erickson

Paying Markets

An Announcement

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Notes from Minnesota

My computer's dead. Mort. Finis.

Grrrr.

After two full weeks at the “geek squad,” a few hundred bucks later, and assurances that everything would work swimmingly, my dear friend decided to take the long, quiet nap.

In other words, the dang thing won't turn on.

I'm sending you this message via Pee Wee, my ever faithful laptop. Yeah, this is the slim machine that vies with my dear puppies for lap time. And with sub-zero temps, I gotta tell you, a warm lap is a hot commodity these days. (Pun intended.)

Both dogs curse Pee Wee right now.

Ah, but we both know how much I enjoy writing in the Lazee Boy. Life doesn't get much better than that.

Mobile writing, that's where this job gets fun.

Pull away from the desk. Wrap myself in a warm quilt. Plug in the little laptop and I’m good to go for quite a while.

I'm amazed at how I get so much more done when I'm not tempted by e-mail, celebrity gossip, and a million little Filbert Publishing doo dads I need to take care of.

But we're off to the computer store tonight to pick up a new desktop. All will be back to normal within a day or so.

In the mean time, I'm enjoying the adventure.

Talk later,

Beth

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~~~~~~~~~~~~ Feature Article ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dissolving Your Comfort Zone

Beth Ann Erickson

I recently returned from a business trip to San Francisco.

Mucho fun. Terribly interesting.

The hotel perched right in the middle of China Town, not far from Little Italy. Talk about a cultural milieu of grand proportions.

Coming from white-bread Kandiyohi smack dab into the middle of urban-central is about as close to culture shock as I've been in a long time.

Just the half hour Harry Potter bus ride from the airport rang ripe with more stories per minute than I ever imagined possible.

You urban writers are pretty darn lucky. And if I hear one complaint about writers block from any of you, I simply won't listen. You've got way too much going on in your neighborhood to even consider the ill-fated notion of “writing block.”

But I also noticed something else that puzzled me.

Despite all the incredible stories unfolding in every corner, most people seemed utterly oblivious to the circus around them.

Strange, to be sure.

One moment we're speeding down a narrow (and very hilly!) avenue and the next the driver's slamming the brakes avoiding a clearly-homeless gray haired lady with flaming frizzy hair zooming in front of us in her 10k electric wheel chair.

There's gotta be a story there.

Cars parked perched at 45 degree angles, so close I'm not sure how anyone got in or out of them. Where's the story?

A three minute non-verbal round of fisticuffs between my driver and a traffic cop resulting in a very rooster-like dance on the part of the cop as he threateningly motioned for my crazy little bus to move on... how can anyone not find this living, breathing extravaganza a most fascinating study of human behavior?

We're a pretty flaky bunch, we humans. We can carry a four dollar bottle of Naked while three feet away a homeless man lies in an alley nursing leopard bruises on his legs.

The problem is most of us are oblivious. Completely unaware of what's going on outside our own skin.

And as writers, that's really a tragedy.

Copywriters are taught to reach outside themselves and appeal to the self interests of their reader. Fiction writers tend to do the opposite. We go deep inside ourselves, mining out innermost thoughts and dragging them to the surface.

Copywriting great John Carlton is always harping that writers need to “wake up,” move beyond the confines of our limited minds, venture into the great white world and truly experience this thing we call “life.”

Scary prospect, eh? You never know where you may end up.

One day you're sitting in your cozy office pondering your next article, the next you're careening down a strange street with your very life in the hands of a maniac driver.

Thing is we can probably pound out a few stories, mining the caves of our mind. However, that'll get old pretty darn fast. Plus, if you plan on acquiring a readership anywhere beyond your own family, you should probably buck up and start living life.

And I mean REALLY living it. Not just in your safe cocoon, I'm talking moving beyond your comfort zone and experiencing every single excruciating moment.

Luckily for me, I've hooked up with mentors who have forced me to do just that. And for that, I'll forever be grateful.

They have, through various forms of evil manipulation, forced me to criss cross this fair country, even making me travel hours beyond the airport to find that little gem, a tiny piece of information, a diamond in the rough, that'll eventually become my newest project.

It's cool, really.

And once you're beyond your comfort zone, you need to become ultra-aware of what's going on around you. What color is the ceiling? What scents tickle your nostrils? What sounds ring?

As I walked through down town San Francisco at 1:30am, believe me every sense tingled. I heard sounds I’ve never heard before. I felt more alive than I've felt in a long time.

Do something every day that scares you. Better yet, write something that makes you squirm. Then PUBLISH it.

If you don't have anyone in your life pushing you beyond your comfort level, you really need to find one.

Like it or not, you are the recorder of history. If you don't see it, experience it, and record it, it probably won't get done.

Take your job seriously. Live life. Experience every dirty, terrific, horrific, ecstatic, boring, thrilling, heart rending, fly-by-night, crazy moment. When you die, your body ought to be used up, worn out, without even one more second of life possible. And hopefully you will have recorded as much as is humanly possible.

That's how I plan on living until my time here is done.

After all, life's a blast that's meant to be lived.

I hope you'll join me.

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Want a ton of ultra-effective techniques that’ll give you an incredible edge in the over-crowded freelance world? Click this link. http://filbertpublishing.com/jumpstart.html

P.S. You can use this article free of charge on your own website or zine. Just don’t make any changes and be sure to include the entire byline. Enjoy!

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Paying Markets:

Science of Mind Magazine

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Fate

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Strand Magazine

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Mysteries Magazine

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Ellery Queens Magazine

http://www.themysteryplace.com/eqmm/guidelines/

Alfred Hitchcock

http://www.themysteryplace.com/ahmm/guidelines/

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Announcement:

We’re trimming FilbertPublishing.com again.

Because the site’s growing by leaps and bounds, every now and then we cut out a few pages to make the site’s size manageable.

This means our 2004 archive is headed for the chopping block. If you want to re-read those issues before they’re gone for good, just head to the FilbertPublishing.com vault and start clicking. We’ve already cut out the 2001 – 2003 issues to make way for new and exciting information. I’d hate to see you lose another year without a chance to re-read these classic back issues.

Here’s the link:

http://filbertpublishing.com/Top_Secret_Vault.html

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Information Marketers! Discover the copywriter who knows the unique demands of your industry and can help you sell a ton of product. http://BethAnnErickson.com

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Writing Etc.

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