I spent five hours in the library yesterday writing my butt off. It’s really not a lot of time when you think about it. I used to devote 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week to a regular job that benefited my employers more than it did me. For all the “self-employed” writers, you ought to be writing grind style. Forty hours a week is a minimum. Getting your name out there, enhancing your brand, and, most importantly, getting paid, requires you to be ON IT all the time. If you can’t write on the same thing for 8 hours, that’s cool. Write about anything. I chose to tackle a fellowship application today that required me to write multiple essays in addition to pulling together some interview questions for a few upcoming Zora&Alice articles. Now, I’m here, writing to you about nothing really that important, but again another way for me to engage and enhance my skill. I plan to go see Inception tomorrow, but I must get some writing in first (or after). If writing is only a hobby, then your talent will be treated like one.

Here are some great writers that keep me inspired. Hope they help all my writing buddies too!

Gary Vaynerchuk’s “Do What You Love” Talk is a MUST, MUST, MUST watch for EVERY writer

Paulo Coelho’s Blog (if you don’t worship this man as a writer, I’m not sure how successful you’re going to be)

Seth Godin’s Blog (Seth Godin is a marketing guru, but I loved this particular post about book writing)

Advice to Writers website (great for quotes and inspiration…follow them on Twitter for more frequent updates)

Photo Credit: Read Magazine

I’m sitting here on my bed in New Jersey, it’s Daddy’s birthday so I came back home for the weekend. And after my first week of school, I think it has finally hit me. This Is It! This is my last semester, graduation is around the corner, and I am scared…shitless, but simultaneously so excited to be free from the burdens of academia. I made a decision not to go to graduate school (immediately), I like to call graduate school the “safety net” for most college graduates. When you still don’t know what to do with your life after four years (or three in my case), why not pay an extra 30 to 50 grand to get another degree…. which really in the scheme of things doesn’t protect you much more than a bachelor’s in our current economy. Unfortunately, networking gets you further than research papers and exams these days.

I’m more of a sky diving girl, either I am going to jump and soar… or fall straight on my ass. That’s pretty much what I plan to do. I like to think of my family as my extra parachute, but I am not too good at asking for things, so I am not sure how much use I’ll get out of it. I get yelled at all the time, “Arielle, you’re a student! Stop trying to handle everything by yourself.” Yes, easier said than done, but I have learned slowly to let some support in and yes it has made my life much easier.

I started thinking about what I am up against post-graduation:

1. A recession. Yes, this is nothing new. Not many places are hiring.

2. I am passionate about being a writer…in a recession.

3. The idea of moving back home/away from New York makes me go cold.

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