Procrastinators anonymous paa

As you probably have already guessed, I have a problem. I am seriously battling with procrastination and I think I’m doing very well so far. You see, the good news is that I am not ashamed or too afraid to admit it, and neither should you be. I bet you’re saying to yourself right now, “I don’t have a problem.” Well I am here to tell you that there is hope for you. We will overcome this, together, but the first step towards recovery is being able to admit the problem. To make it a little bit easier for you, I will go first—‘Hi, my name is Siobhan and I am a procrastinator.’ You see, that wasn’t so bad. So, are you ready to admit that you should be doing something else right now besides reading this? Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us; literally.

Wouldn’t that be something if there really was a Procrastinators Anonymous Association (PAA)? The thought sounds good, but I’m not too sure about how good of an idea it would be to actually start one. I can already foresee a few hurdles with having a PAA; for one, members may keep postponing the meetings for no apparent reason. Another thing is there would probably not be enough room to hold almost every single person in the world. Let’s face it, we all procrastinate. As a matter of fact, we are all experts at it and lucky for us it isn’t as bad as is made out to be.

As a writer, procrastination gives me a chance to think about my book while I’m doing something else in place of writing it. What better way is there to make use of all that time other than using it to contemplate new ideas, fine tune details, and get everything just right before I actually sit down to write? I once read somewhere that the biggest procrastinators tend to be very creative and intelligent. I am in no way making excuses for my procrastination; instead, learned to just appreciate and accept it.

It may sound crazy but I believe that the rest of the world also loves it when I procrastinate. Suddenly, everyone seems to get my undivided attention. My dog gets walked for a few extra minutes, phone calls get answered, and even missed calls get returned. It also seems to be the times when my stomach talks to me more than usual and the best songs come on the radio that I just can’t resist singing along to. The even crazier thing about it is I only procrastinate like this when it comes to writing. I don’t know why I do it, but it always seems to happen. I became curious and asked some other writers, artists and creative people if they experience anything similar. To my surprise, I was not alone. That is when I decided to write off my procrastinating tendencies as a trait that all writers and artistic people are just born with.

As a person who thirsts for knowledge, I did some research and found out that writers are known to procrastinate. Many well known writers are considered to be some of the biggest procrastinators. Inspiring isn’t it? If you really think about it, procrastinating can indeed be useful and necessary at times because it allows the writer to let go. Sometimes when you hold on to an idea too tight or try to force creativity, it seems to pack up and take a vacation somewhere, leaving you frustrated. But when you just let it go, it comes to you as naturally as feeling the warm sun against your skin. It’s no different than trying to remember that name that on the tip of your tongue. As long as you spend wrecking your brain trying to remember it, it never comes; but the second you stop trying and just let it go, doesn’t the name blurt out of your mouth as if you weren’t even trying to remember it in the first place? Some things are just unexplainably strange.

So now that I have admit my problem, which in essence has turned out to be not much of a problem at all, can you admit to being a procrastinator and accept the rewards and benefits that come with resourcefully killing time? I know one thing; it may have taken me 20 hours to write something that could have possibly been done in less than an hour, but who is to say that I would have came to these conclusions that fast? I want to give a special thanks to those four chocolate chip cookies that I ate, the glass of milk that helped wash it down, my supposedly housebroken dog for making “mess” on the floor, and my computer for acting up and erasing those much needed files. I am a procrastinator par excellence.

A writer s guide to finding freelance writing jobs

Writers are very much in demand these days because of the rising demands for their online content. The pay is oftentimes better and the hours are not so long. Many even freelance full-time.

Freelance writing extends to several different categories. Before you begin looking for work, you’ll have to decide whether or not you want to get credit for your writing. If you insist on a byline, you may have difficulty finding a lot of paying jobs. Byline jobs are out there if you look. However, the most money to be made is from working as a web ghostwriter.

There are several different categories of freelance writing. When you see the term “content writing” you will normally be providing text for an existing or new website. Your writing will have to be engaging and clear for website visitors. Article writers concentrate on providing articles for websites, newsletters and blogs. Generally, articles for the web are between 400 and 800 words each. Any more than that is difficult for readers to sit through while looking at a computer screen. Copywriters are challenged with putting readers in the mood to buy. They write copy for Internet sales letters and marketing sites. Ebook ghostwriters provide clients with full-length books on a variety of topics.

Freelance writers need to be professional in their online presence. This means spell-checking all writing, including e-mails to clients. It is also a good idea to get an e-mail address that is specifically used for your writing. A personal e-mail address with a goofy handle will make you appear unprofessional. Your first and last name or a combination thereof is a good choice for your web writing e-mail address.

Writing for the Internet has a few differences from writing essays in school or writing for print magazines. Readers online have short attention spans, and you’ll need to keep your sentences short and your paragraphs clear.

The other difference is the use of “keywords” in certain writing assignments. Keywords are words that have been selected by your client to be used in the article. These words have been selected because they are Internet search terms and your client wants their website to show up for those search terms. Keyword articles will require you to use the word or phrase a certain number of times in the article. Sometimes it can be difficult to use the words without making it sound forced. Experienced web writers have developed ways to make the keywords flow naturally into their articles.

Below are some of the areas and industries where freelance writers are needed. Read on and find the freelance path that is right for you.

MAGAZINES

Freelance writers are frequently hired to contribute articles for magazines. In fact, this is one area where you can actually get regular assignments as a freelance writer especially if clients find your work good. The rate for every article is quite generous especially if it involves interviewing. Some writers even kill two birds with one stone by also taking photographs for the interview. This way, the client also pays for the pictures that accompany your article.

NEWSPAPER CORRESPONDENT

Another area where you can get freelance work is the newspapers, where editors often hire freelance correspondents (sometimes called “stringers”). This is especially true with areas that are outside the city. Newspapers find it cheaper to hire correspondents and pay for their services than to send their own staff writers to cover an event.

ONLINE WRITERS

As mentioned before, online writers are in demand nowadays because writers are needed to update website content. Magazines that maintain their own websites hire freelance writers just to do online content. In fact, not all the write ups you see on the Internet can be found in the magazines and not all articles in the magazines are used for online content.

PR WRITING

Public relations writing is a cost-effective way to advertise products. Because of this, companies hire writers to do their PR write ups for them.

BLOGGING

Blogging is yet another way to make money as a freelance writers. Blogs are an ever-growing form of Internet media. Blog writers generally provide their own content. You can make money as a freelancer by starting your own blog and posting to it daily. If you love to write, you can start several blogs at once and multiply your earnings. Once you become an experienced blogger, you can apply for blogging jobs and post for other people.

GHOSTWRITING

Many freelancers find success with ghostwriting. When you work as a freelance ghostwriter you provide writing services for clients who will then use the work as their own. Ghostwriting is a lucrative opportunity, especially when you focus on web writing. For the most part, the Internet is a text and image based platform. Companies and individuals who run websites constantly need text to make their websites attractive to visitors. Since writing is something that a lot of people would rather not do, this leaves plenty of opportunities for people who love to write.

Once you’ve gotten a few web writing assignments under your belt, you can decide what type of web writing suits you best. You can find work on writing message boards, freelance writing job sites, such as FreelanceWriting. com, and classified ad sites like Craigslist. org. Whenever you apply for a job, make sure to include your contact information and a few well-selected writing samples.