It’s a good thing my income does not depend on my writing; there has been too little of it lately. And yet, as I read and think and write, I know – despite lulls or dry spells – that I just have to keep doing it. Writing, that is.

But the question that has been plaguing me for some time is – what type(s) of writing do I want to focus on? (Yes, I know that’s grammatically incorrect, thank you – but I think it’s friendlier!)

Fiction?

For 8 months last year, I enjoyed participating in a weekly short story contest in Writer’s Hangout on LinkedIn. The discipline of writing on a theme, with no more than 4000 characters, and within 7 days – whew! It was great training – I surprised myself doing it – and fun, too!  But it’s not something I feel drawn to do again right now.

Summer is, I confess, a time when my reading becomes lazy – gentle mysteries, fluffy romances, the odd historical or cross-cultural novel. This has led to an idea that I am toying with – resurrecting a VERY old Harlequin Romance idea, modernizing it and writing it as a novel for the voracious Romance market. I’ll see how it goes, perhaps I will debut a chapter here on my blog…

Short Articles?

I wrote several articles for www.ezinearticles.com years ago. On health issues, tips for surviving the holidays, a few pre-blog essays. My longtime interest in nutrition and health led me to write a handful of short pieces for a content-mill-type brokerage. Easy to write and a nice way to share ideas and information I have learned (by trial and error), and they earned me a few bucks. I’ll be starting another article this weekend…

Web Content?

I have dabbled with web content for an African ministry run by friends (www.bopomavillages.org) and am working on a couple of stories – updates on their recent trip to Zimbabwe and a profile on an inspiring man who volunteers in one of the community projects. This is my labour of love, and a way to contribute to this life-giving and life-transforming work in one of the poorest regions in Africa.

Copywriting?

I’m still working on honing my skills. Here’s one assignment I did a few months ago.

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Hmm, I don’t know… too crass and commercial? Or has it stirred your imagination?

All of the Above?

While I am contemplating my options, I will continue practising my craft, hopefully improving as I go. I want to be a better writer, so I will follow Stephen King’s advice: “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”

I am grateful to you, my reading and writing friends, for sharing in this practice. I look forward to reading and writing with you as we carry on…