How I Write (and Publish) So Damn Much

Sorry, these answers are far from sexy.

This one goes out to my friend Karen Smart, who tweeted to ask how I write as much as I do.

It's true--I do write a lot. In the month of September alone, I published 51 stories here on Medium. Down from my usual 60+, but still a shit-ton of writing.

On top of that, I also created about 1,000 social media posts and 16 blog posts for my day job clients.

Finally, I wrote a blog post for a new site I'm contributing for, and worked on a handful of drafts.

So how do I do it and what's my process?

Step inside my not-so-secret world...

If I don't write, I have no money.

I basically write everyday because I have to--it's my livelihood. I'm the single mom of a 4 year old who's never been in daycare. I was unemployed when I gave birth to her and began writing for a social media startup when she was about 8 months old.

During my unemployment, I lived with friends or acquaintances, and was on SNAP and WIC for grocery aid. I've done the social media work for more than 3-and-a-half years now. For a long time it was a full-time gig, but last spring the company cut my clients and I went from earning $2,200+ as a contractor to $900+ and I suddenly had no job security.

I came here with the intention to make up for the lost income.

Sure, I've got a Patreon page, but those earnings are quite small (about $35 a month at the moment) and as a result I haven't leveraged it well.

I'm not on any assistance programs, I have no roommates other then my 4 year old (ha), and my ex only pays $200 a month for child support. With my social media work, I'm limited by how many clients I'm assigned, and for the past 6+ months, they've prioritized new writers (ahem, their friends and relatives) over me, a single mom writer who's been with them from the beginning.

Yeah, so I'm still a little bit bitter about the whole thing.

My life mainly consists of just two things.

I take care of my daughter, and I write. That's it. It hasn't always been so bland, but that's where things sit today. Eventually, I'll go on a date again with someone I occasionally see in Atlanta, but things have been too swamped as I've tried to adjust to my new writing life. The one where I write and hope it will be enough to pay the bills and cover extra needs as they come along.

That means my personal life is about non-existent, and I don't have the responsibilites that occur with a spouse or other family members. My editor from my day job has become a friend, and we occasionally do things together with our daughters who are all in the same age group. Library, Target trips, things like that.

It's not all bad when it comes to work life balance.

I rarely need to wake up before 9 am, and on many days I dont actually begin working until noon or later. I can schedule my work around most appointments. I can wear pajamas.

For the most part, I have due dates on Mondays and Fridays, as well as the 14th and 28th of each month. Certain weeks can get a little hairy--especially twice a month when blogs are due. I feel like all I do is work, but I know I'm not alone in that feeling.

I never run out of ideas, just inspiration.

Right now, I've got 429 drafts in my folder. I generally think of new stories in terms of headlines and subtitles first. Whenever one pops into my head, I start a draft with the title and topic idea.

Ideally, every time I write the words would flow freely. But they don't. It's an inspiration thing. I love to write when I'm inspired, but I make myself write even when I'm not.

Often it means picking an idea and just plugging away until I'm satisfied enough to hit publish.

My writing is far from flawless.

These days, I'm just trying to build an audience that enjoys my voice and can grow. I'm nobody special or amazing. I'm simply okay with putting myself and my flaws out there because I know my messages will resonate with somebody.

So as you'll notice, my writing is far from perfect. I miss typos. Had I given each piece a few more reads I would have reworded some clunky sentences. That said, I do think I'm good at writing in my own voice. I think my messages matter.

How can any of this help you?

Honestly, it might not help you at all. I'm a slow writer and have no tips on boosting your productivity. The best advice I can give you is that if you lose your job--or, more than half your income--and you're sick of working for other people who don't value your effort, you can harness that energy to do what you always wanted to do--write your own shit.

That's really all that happened with me. I was devastated about my situation and needed to make money, and decided I'd take at least a year to invest in myself and my own writing rather than look for new freelance gigs.

I had no idea what to expect. In a way, I expected failure and homelessness. But so far I've managed to stay afloat and I aim to keep going and hopefully gain more loyal readers.

Whatever you do, if you have a dream to write, fit it into your life wherever you can, because no one can make it happen but you.

Oh, and don't be afraid to experiment with your writing topics as long as your voice prevails!

If you love my work and want to support my efforts to break cycles of stigma and shame, visit me on Ko-fi. From there, you can follow and support my future projects.