Find What You Love

I meant to write this yesterday, but I ended up getting caught up in other things I needed to work on. So here I am, writing it today. Better late than never, right?

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the difference between what I feel like I have to do and what I want to do. It is so easy to get caught up in what everyone expects you to do. I found myself a year into working retail, having completely forgotten the one thing I’ve been wanting to do since long before I got that job.

It really isn’t easy being a creative person in this world. Most people don’t understand where you are coming from and tend to not take your dreams seriously. Even though there has been a lot of growth when it comes to ways to pursue those creative endeavors, there are still a lot of challenges. 

I produce two weekly interview shows under the umbrella of Pseudonym Social. I've been working on this for going on 6 months now and am slowly gaining some traction. I know it is going to take a while before I can officially say I've "made it" as a podcaster. I’m also well aware of the fact that the industry is still too young for me to make any real money, at least for now. It is also exploding, which is exciting. Even so, I got so caught up in the production and in the pursuit of money that I neglected my writing for a while. I ended up switching my podcast from Libsyn to RedCircle, which offers the same bells and whistles for free. Free is less stressful than $30 a month. 

But I forgot how good it feels to write. To create things purely for the purpose of creating. I have so many stories in me that need telling, and they have been getting really grumpy about me ignoring them.

I’ve recently started doing some freelance editing for some friends of mine who own their own publishing company, Fyre Syde Publishing. It has been a while since I’ve done editing work like this and it reminded me of how much I enjoy it. Going through someone’s story and picking out the details and flaws to help make it better. I can be a ruthless editor but I do it with the best of intentions.

It also reminded me of another thing. People have been telling me for years now that I should consider becoming a literary agent. I spent a fair amount of time looking into it, including researching some of the companies in my area. Then I found myself in a position where I needed whatever job I could find as fast as I could find it. And I’ve been there for a year now. 

Only recently have I started once again looking into becoming an agent. I was very happy to discover that there are a lot of agencies that allow people to work remotely, which makes my life easier. I still have a lot to learn though.

I have a long way to go towards finishing this novel. I’ve also got plenty of amazingly talented, creative people looking to have their stories shared through my podcasts. And I’ve got plenty of other dreams in progress.

I have rediscovered what it is that I love. I have relearned what brings me joy. I have done all of this just in time to turn 25. I have plenty of time to chase those dreams and make them a reality. 

I’m changing reality one story at a time. Hopefully, mine will be one of them. 

In the meantime, if you’d like to lend a hand, I have a Ko-Fi account for me and a Patreon for my podcast network, Pseudonym Social. Any little bit helps.

Until next time!