Rapid, Forced Evolution
Mood:
caffeinated
Topic: Daily Eruptions
Evolve or Die!
That seems to be the order of the day around here. The situation I got myself into, with the new curriculum development project and the new class I'm taking, intensified even further when I decided that rather than going with Hans to L.A. (it was getting very complicated due to family matters and the fact that we were going to be traveling with Kaija) I would stay home and finish painting the first floor of the house. On top of that, I helped to convince Sudie that she should take a year off from the Open Studio Tour so that, instead of worrying about whether a particular piece would sell, she could just create whatever she wanted for the next six months. To help make up for the loss in income she will suffer, I also helped convince her that she should offer to work with children as part of an Artists in the Schools program. The application for the Artists in the Schools program, however, is very rigorous and requires multiple supporting documents. In essence, I have to create three complete curricula by next Friday, including laying out day by day (for one-day, three-day, and five-day workshops) the outline for topics to be covered and creating supplementary study guides for the teachers to use with students before and after the workshop. And, I have to do that for two grade levels and tie each curriculum in as closely as possible to Wake County's education requirements for each grade. All by next Friday!!
I may be dead by then.
So far, I have made it through week one of the class and turned in my first query. What I have learned is that my brain does not yet think in ways that are compatible with non-trade magazine writing. I can outline an essay, a speech or lesson, a book chapter, even a poem - but not a magazine article, at least not quickly or easily. Part of it is that I'm not all that familiar with all the formats an article can take and which formats best suit which kinds of material.
I am also learning that I might always need to do a little more work than anyone else to land an assignment, even after I have a handful of clips. I think the status quo with magazine writers is that they develop specialties and write hundreds of articles staying pretty close to one, two, or three fairly well defined subject areas. I, on the other hand, am turning to writing for exactly the same reason I was forced to turn away from science - I can't stand the idea of forcing myself to specialize. I want to be the Renaissance Man Tad used to talk so passionately about in high school. I want to use writing as an excuse to learn anything and everything I want and as a vehicle for helping me synthesize that learning, regardless of whether my subject has any practical application or fits in neatly with other things I know. Apparently in the world of magazine writing it doesn't matter if you've published 100 articles on organic gardening if the subject you're pitching an editor is about learning to fly an airplane. If you haven't written about aviation before, no one's going to believe you can do it now without you actually producing the article before you pitch it. So, I will be spending a lot of time writing articles, especially in the beginning, that have no promise of a home. This is not new to me, however. Every time I have ever applied for a job it has been so unlike anything else I've done that I've had to jump through a bunch of hoops to prove that "transferable skills" really do exist and that I possess them in spades. And, that I learn really quickly and I know how to learn on my own. Global thinker, passionate, detail-oriented, conscientious....
The next idea I'm pitching is related to the first pitch I wrote, but I think it would be considered a feature piece, i.e., longer and more in-depth and even harder for a novice to sell. But, I am really passionate about it, and even though figuring out how to organize and balance the wide range of ideas it will contain will be a huge challenge, I'm pretty sure that - provided I get the interviews I need - I can do it. So finishing the query is my challenge for tonight.
Tomorrow, I finish painting the kitchen's last two walls and the two walls that intersect behing the fireplace. Sunday, I finish painting the two remaining walls in the living room and put the house back together after all the painting is finished. Oh, and do some research to remind myself what teaching techniques are most effective with which elementary grade levels.
Monday, I meet with Billie about the Integrated Pest Management Curriculum and then spend eight hours cranking out curriculum materials for Sudie teaching second graders about writing and illustrating children's books. And, in the evening, I figure out to which alternative magazine I am going to send my second pitch.
Tuesday, 8 hours curriculum creation for Sudie, turn in pitch, start third pitch....
I can't really see much beyond that! Pray for me!
Thoughts captured by Kristine
at 2:54 PM EST
Updated: Saturday, March 4, 2006 8:17 AM EST