Not a rant this time; more of a curiosity...

It sounds as if you are suited for writing articles as well as novels. You don't have to be an expert in anything or even well educated in order to write articles. That is what the Internet is for - researching. Just find a topic that is being requested or that you are interested in and go look up information on it. Also, you might like writing short stories as well as novels. Just a suggestion.

Are there any topics you are passionate about? That would keep you writing articles.

It sounds like you have a lot of interests you could write about. Did you have any amusing or frustrating experiences as a janitor you could write about?
I worked as a maid in a hospital one summer when I was young.

Hi Sean - Why not take your collective interests (music, furry hybrids, even antiques) and write a few short stories with the idea of possibly coming up with a collection of theme based short stories. Puma

Sean, is it that you thought writing novels was hard and would take years of struggling to reach success but writing articles is easy and quick?

Whatever new direction you might decide to take with your writing, it's going to be tough. And it can take years and the same amount of struggle to establish yourself and start making money at it. I think you really do have it in you to write great articles and essays, but don't expect it to come easy or fast.

I know you said you weren't really good at short stories, but I urge you to reconsider the short form. Your experiences and interests would lend themselves so well to short stoiries!

Try everything. It's not a marriage; you can switch back and forth!
Step 1: Read Green Eggs and Ham
Step 2: Visit keyboard or pen and paper
voila!

I also know quite a bit about cleaning (I was a janitor for several months and received formal training therein).

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I'd suggest brainstorming here. Are there trade journals for that industry? School administration journals? Corporations? There's got to be some niche market there, where you could submit stuff along the lines of "how to get the most out of your janitorial staff" or "how to make the janitor your friend" or "how to hire a competent janitor" or "how to save money on janitorial supplies" or "how to operate your own janitorial service" or "why NOT to operate your own janitorial service." With a little adjustment, that could be marketed to the home-cleaning industry, too, I would think. And general-interest magazines, like "how to interview a prospective janitor/home-cleaner" or "what to expect from a home-cleaning [or business-cleaning] service" or "what you can do in-house, and what you should contract out for, in the home/business-cleaning services sector."

Is there a website for professionals in this biz? Is there some sector of it that's not getting enough attention and would flock to a website? Do folks with franchises like American Maid need some advice/camaraderie outside whatever the franchise does for them?

JD

So here is my take on this. It will probably be silly but as most of my friends in the poetry forum know-well-I am. Anyway I write fiction and articles on classical music-I am published not vanity-pod-stuff like that and enough said about that. So I am also a retired Marine as well as a successful ex-opera singer-not the Podunk Opera society. I say this only to let you know that at no time in my life did I ever think about or consider writing as a profession-it was an accident. I never wrote a poem until I started playing about here on the boards. It is now one of my great joys and certainly sparks the old gray matter-and it is quite elderly at times. So when the brain is at a stand still I write poetry with no knowledge of it-no experience and quite frankly I still do not. I would not know a sonnet from a pig's rear end. I write it as I write my fiction-totally from my butt. So that may be no help whatsoever-it is a no fear thing. Now the other thing I do which is totally or had always been-not me is that I keep a diary for want of a better title. It is not dear diary but rather just a daily sit-down-often very late as that is when I do all my so called serious writing-middle of the night kind of thing. I do not plan what I write-maybe that is my key for myself. I simply write down my thoughts for the day whatever they may be-and they are usually crazy thoughts but when going over them again one or two days later or even longer-inevitably I find things that I have written down I can use in a WIP or even for a poem. That is something that has helped me tremendously and it might be worth a try and can be at least edifying and fun. You never know! As usual I have said too much but I have learned here at AW that I am not a totally insular
man and that it is possible to have friends who I know and trust-a huge problem for me in the past but that is another story-hell maybe I will write a poem or a short about that. See how it works? Just write-does not matter what or the quality there is always someone around to tell you that you stink right! Anyway that is my 25cents worth and I honestly wish you the very best-have some fun. Do not worry be happy. Dave

I second those who say to keep dabbling in other forms. You say you are not skilled at short fiction, but it is an art that is worth pursuing. I have decided to focus on MG fiction, but I need a break from the kiddie stuff to keep me sane, so I write shorts in mystery and horror fields. It's sort of like a busman's holiday. Try your hand at the shorter forms. Even if you don't feel those efforts are worthy of submission, it will make you a more well rounded writer and help you to grow your craft.

Niche

It sounds like the novel is your niche.

Sean D. Schaffer said:

Well, I'm passionate about the Bible, but I'm neither a Christian nor am I Jewish. I'm also passionate about writing (obviously) and I like to read and write a lot about creatures that come from my own imagination (I like to take two animals and make a hybrid, or sometimes take an animal and a human and make what some call an anthropomorphic creature (sometimes referred to as a 'Furry').

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Well, if you are a believer but don't associate with a group, write from that perspective. YOu are not alone in this. I have encountered many people who read the bible and believe in God but do not consider themselves part of an organized group. There may even be a market for it. Certainly websites.

I like dragons, especially. A lot of times that's just about all I can think about.

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Oh, i do to. And dragons show up in every culture. Write something about those. Fiction, non-fiction, or both. Article, story, novel, non-ficiton book. It's all good.

I also am highly passionate about music, even though my knowledge of the music I love is limited.

I love to play the drums.

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Then write about it. There are drumming magazines. Or write a review of a local band for the local rag. If nothing else it'll be a clip.

I also know quite a bit about cleaning (I was a janitor for several months and received formal training therein). And I know some stuff, though not extremely much, about computers and also antiques.

So I suppose I have a lot more I really am passionate about now I think about it, than I originally thought. Yet most of my knowledge comes from trial-and-error experience. Would that be acceptable to most freelance markets?

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Don't come at it from an angle of "I'm not educated," or "I don't know much about..." Part of writing is research. If you ask me that is part of the fun. It is good to have some knowledge of a subject, but you don't need to be an expert, just a researcher. YOu can do it.

I think you should believe in yourself a little bit more. Anything you think you're not good at you can always improve. Besides, I bet you are better at short story writing than you think. Howa abouit a short story about drumming? How does it make you feel?

I was going to say to that I am hearing self-doubt in your post. David mentioned journalling. I do this too. When I don't i start that self-doubting I suck at everything I can't do this what am I thinking spiral. When I do write in my journal, that falls away and I can focus on my writing again.

janetbellinger said:

Oh oh.

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?

FBI

congrats Although I don't seen anything wrong with just writing novels it seems that might be shortchanging yourself.

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Sean D. Schaffer said:

And that might be the other niche I could work in. Short Stories. If I can figure out what exactly my genre will be, I might have a better ability to write short short stories if I write them with a pen. Ballpoint, rollerball or gel?

I am quite happy at this point, because I've been worried I might end up short-changing either the Industry or myself by writing only novels. With all due respect, you are taking yourself way too seriously. This should give me a lot to think about, quite seriously, when it comes to my writing.


I just wanted you all to know this, and I hope you all have a wonderful remainder of the weekend.

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