Phases

Well, damn. Hey everyone. I hope you’re all doing well. I can’t believe that the last time I posted was in February. The title of that post was called “Rage.” In it, I’m describing my current resentment at the world and how I was seen as a black man.

But after that post, I felt a lot better. For some reason, it pushed me to go out and turn that anger into something prosperous. So that’s what I did.

The following week after that post, I started applying to writing jobs all over. Although I enjoyed writing this personal blog and sharing my experiences with you all, I wanted to take that next step in my writing career.

So What Have I Been Up To?

You could call me a ghostwriter. Unfortunately, I’m not writing rap lyrics for artists (Who knows, the possibility may still be there in the future). Instead, I’m ghostwriting articles for a few companies in the U.S. as an independent contractor.

So these companies assign me articles from different companies about various topics. Sometimes the article could be about ten reasons you should hire a lawyer or the best stock to add to your portfolio. If you can think about a random topic, I’m sure I’ve written about it over these past seven months.

It’s fun but challenging work. I’m able to do something I enjoy every day. I learn new information all the time, and I’m able to convey certain tones to different audiences. It’s also helped me sharpen my writing skills. I had to invest in a few things if I wanted to take this writing thing seriously.

As a result, I feel like my skills are more polished. But it can be a detriment at times.

I’m Tired

Since I’m no longer playing basketball (for now), I had to channel my inner athlete and attack writing the same way. I want to be great at this so badly that I worked many early mornings and weekends to ensure that my skills would never fall off.

I was even working while I was on vacation this summer. Since this was my first rodeo at freelancing journalism, I figured I needed to do whatever I could to stand out. But the unnecessary pressure led to some minor burnout last month.

I didn’t realize it until a few weeks ago, but I was producing articles nonstop without actually taking a couple of weeks off from writing. Yes, I would take a day or two off here or there, but never any full-time off.

So I finally had to a couple of weeks ago, and it was lovely. It was hard as hell too. I felt that I was missing out on so many opportunities because I wasn’t writing. But I had to tell myself that it wasn’t the end of the world. And I have to keep telling myself this.

I’ve only started this professional writing journey THIS year. Maybe I feel like I’m losing time because the year has flown by, so I’m putting so much pressure on myself to reach specific accolades.

But I can’t. If it took me over 20 something years to get good at basketball, I’d definitely need to buckle up for this writing journey.

So What’s Next?

What’s next? Well, right now, I’m going to continue ghostwriting to sharpen my skills and build a credible portfolio. By the end of the year, my goal is to have two or three articles published with my byline.

But to achieve that goal, I can’t do it without your help. You’re probably wondering how you can help.

Hold me accountable. I know, I’m bugging out asking you to do that because we all have our own shit going on. But throughout these last seven months, I neglected this site which jump-started my journey back into writing. If it weren’t for your support from previous posts, I wouldn’t have had the courage to use my stories to apply for gigs.

So now that I have a solid grasp on freelance writing, I’ll do my best not to neglect our cozy corner. But I’ll still need your help.

If you’re a subscriber and haven’t seen me post in a week or two, give me a little nudge. If you’re a passing reader, leave a comment on a previous post. I’ll get notifications, which will prompt me to get my ass in gear and tend to OUR foundation.

I’ll do my best to ensure that I continue to share my experiences and feelings with you all. The goal is to grow together, and that’s something that we can’t do alone.

Happy Sunday y’all.

Peace & blessings.

CB