Tag Archives: travel

Maintaining Freelance Writing Focus

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Travel is good for the soul, but hard on a freelancer’s focus. Take my recent trip to Turkey.  I came home inspired and bursting with stories to share. Reality hit when I had to sit down and decide if I wanted to try and find homes for these ideas in traditional markets (newspapers and magazines), or take a financial hit and send them to online markets, or put them up on my own blogs.

So many options for the same journey! (Photo: M.Kopp)

So many options for the same journey! (Photo: M.Kopp)

In the meantime, I’m now back in the office with two children’s book deadlines breathing down my neck. Most of the work has been done, but they need to be wrapped up, pronto! Travel stories and ideas – back burner.

A few days later… deadlines met. Where was I? Marketing travel stories, right. Before I can go there, I need to carefully sort through my ideas. Which ones have enough substance to be a magazine or newspaper article? Which slants are time-sensitive and better suited to online markets? And which story ideas are leftover for my blogs? Do I have sufficient, distinctly different, good quality photos to support each idea?

Off to market
Traditional markets – I’ll start there and try to get paid for my prose. It’s going to take time to find the right market, draft a strong query, and wait for a response, but as a freelance writer who makes a career from words, it’s worth the effort. Query #1 sent.

At the same time, I have lots of story ideas running around in my head. I think I’ll send one off to an online market I’ve worked with before. It helps keep me motivated by seeing something published with my byline. As with print, I need to find the right market, draft a strong query, and wait for the response – but online markets have a faster turnaround.

Query #2 sent. Response back in less than a day. The editor kindly passed on the idea… sigh. She’s going to be travelling back to the same area one day soon and doesn’t want to have similar material already up on the website. Fair enough, but now I’ve got to find another market for the idea.

Focus, focus, focus
Searching for potential markets – whether online or print – is an entertaining challenge. Unfortunately, it can also be a huge time suck as I find myself getting pulled off-track again and again and before I know it I’m reading blogs about Turkish food rather than finding a market for my own ideas.

Turkish mezes - a tasteful delight!

Turkish mezes – choices, choices! (Photo: M.Kopp)

Four more children’s books… again most of the work complete… deadlines approaching… It is hard to stay focused at times. Maybe I should give up travel writing altogether. Or maybe the time has come to stop writing children’s non-fiction and focus solely on travel writing. My problem is that I love both genres.

Perhaps it as simple as just getting to work. Send off another online market query, work on the kid’s books some more and then send off another query. Keep moving forward, stay committed to getting things done rather than stressing about it all being hard on my freelance focus. Take one step at a time and accomplish something concrete every day. That’s the ticket.

Query #3… sent. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Find your path and follow it through. (Photo: M.Kopp)

Find your path and follow it through. (Photo: M.Kopp)

How do you stay focused when you have multiple writing projects and story ideas buzzing around your brain?

Walk in Time: RCMP “Depot” Division

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Since 1885, “Depot” Division in Regina has been the training academy for RCMP cadets. It’s a place where tradition lives in every step, every crease, every building.

I was given the opportunity with a handful of other writers to experience a day in cadet boot camp, to walk in time through “Depot.” Although marching was something Troop TMAC never mastered, we did ace the observation portion of the experience.

In the evening I wandered the grounds, soaking up tangible history seen in wood and brick and stone.

Originally built as a mess hall in 1883, the Chapel is the oldest building in Regina. (Photo: M. Kopp)

Originally built as a mess hall in 1883, the Chapel is the oldest building in Regina. Partially destroyed by fire in 1895, it was re-opened as a chapel later that same year. The steeple was added in 1939. (Photo: M. Kopp)

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Destroyed by fire in 1911 and rebuilt the following year, this was the Headquarters 0f the Royal North-West Mounted Police. In 1998, the building was named in honour of Commissioner Major-General Aylesworth Bowen Perry. (Photo: M. Kopp)

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Constructed as a riding school in 1929, this building became the Drill Hall in 1953. Renovated in 2009, today’s polished wood floors in the cavernous interior reflect provincial crests on the walls and flags hung from steel trusses. Drill continues outside as cadets show Troop TMAC observers correct formation. (Photo: M. Kopp)

“Depot” Division reflects pride of tradition in every step, every crease, every building.

If You Go:

  • During July and August, the RCMP Heritage Centre hosts daily tours of RCMP Academy “Depot” Division.
  • Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, “Depot” hosts the Sergeant Major’s Parade on the Parade Square (or in the Drill Hill if the weather is bad).
  • Sunset Retreat Ceremonies are open to the public on July 1, 9, 16, 23, 30, August 6, 13 in 2013.
  • For more information, visit the RCMP Heritage Centre.

 

What books are you reading?

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As a writer, it’s only natural that I love to read, but when I sat down today and looked at carefully selected handful of literary treasures pulled from the city library shelves, I had to laugh.

One writer's reading selections.

The Kenya book was an obvious selection as I trolled the travels shelves. In the midst of planning our first trip to the African continent, I’m gathering up knowledge like a thirsty sponge.

Louise Purwin Zobel’s Travel Writer’s Handbook has remained one of the most useful travel writing books in my collection. The 2012 edition, with Jacqueline Harmon Butler, literally jumped off the writing shelf into my arms.

Judith Barrington’s Writing Memoir was nearby and it caught my eye, along with a similar tome by Natalie Golberg. A huge fan of Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones, I happily added Old Friend from Far Away to the growing stack.

Like a kid with a bagful of goodies leaving the candy store, I wondered which one I should devour first. Choosing Writing Memoir – which had the cachet of being new and different – I plumped up the over-sized down pillows on the couch, thankful for leaky, grey skies keeping me indoors, cracked it open, and winced. In just a few pages, I knew it wasn’t for me.

With disappointment like a bitter taste in my mouth, I tentatively picked up Goldberg’s book on writing memoir – and immediately began thumbing through with increasing speed. Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir. Practice should have been the key – it’s chock-full of writing sprints, short 10-minute exercises to stimulate writing muscles and build up the stamina and expertise required for bigger projects. I’m going to make it a goal to try one each morning.

I’ll get to Zobel’s newest edition tomorrow, and the Kenya book can wait to fill my knowledge reservoir, but for now I’m going to sit back and try one of Goldberg’s exercises. P. 154 “What’s been on your mind? What have you carried and gnawed over? Go. Ten minutes.”

Think I’m going to be focusing on travel and writing! What’s on your mind and your bookshelf?

Travel Photography

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Sometimes it’s all a matter of perspective.

I took a walk around Henderson Lake in Lethbridge with my college girl. Early December, the sun set early. We trudged through drifted parking lot snowbanks to the cleared lakeside path just as the sky turned golden. Glorious warm light bathed trees to the east; perfect silhouettes looking west.

Golden glow at Henderson Lake

Winter sunset in Lethbridge